There's More to Life Than Tennis
by BlackFeatherz29
Summary: Tennis players do have lives outside of tennis, contrary to common belief. The Seigaku tennis regulars find their way through the tangled path of junior high, love and all. RegularsXOCs, MomoAnn, RyoSak. Featured: Inui and Yoko Ren!
1. The Misunderstanding

There's More to Life Besides Tennis

By BlackFeatherz29

Chapter 1

Summary: Tennis players do have lives outside of tennis, contrary to common belief. The Seigaku tennis regulars find their way through the tangled path of junior high. RegularsXOCs except MomoAnn + RyoSak.

My first Prince of Tennis fic and my first predominately romance one, too! I've only been obsessed with Tennis no Ojisama for about a week and a half, but I daresay that I have watched A LOT of the episodes. This fic is mostly for fun, but I hope I'll get a lot of reviews.

Plus, I hope that the crappy title will change. :P

Disclaimer: I don't own Tennis no Ojisama, but I do own Suzutachi Yuri, Morigawa Kohaku, and other of my OCs that come along.

* * *

Kikumaru Eiji sighed as he laced up his tennis shoes. It was time for yet another practice, thanks to the stick-straight pair of Inui and Tezuka.

"Nya, but why?" he whined, going into kawaii mode. "Why do we have to have a practice when there's no tournament or competition in two months?"

The ever stoic Inui tapped his data book, light reflecting jauntily off of his glasses. "We can't become overconfident just because there is no immediate need to practice. We must always be prepared for the unexpected."

Eiji pouted, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like, "… not overconfident, just hungry…"

"Now, now," said Oishi, patting his depressed doubles partner on the back, "we do need to practice. Inui is right; we can't just drop practice when we feel like it even if we don't have a tournament around the corner. Besides…" he said in a conspiratorial whisper, "if we do skip, buchou will make us run 100 laps around the courts."

Eiji grudgingly got up from the bench. "You know that stamina's not my high point," he grumbled good-naturally.

Oishi chuckled, but stopped abruptly as he spied Inui eyeing them and slowly strolling to where his water bottle sat. "And… if we don't start right now, Inui's going to treat us to some of his new-and-improved Inui Juice…"

Both seniors panicked as they saw the said tennis player approaching them with two cups in hand. Straightening up, they tore out onto the tennis field faster than the eye could comprehend.

"Hmm…" Inui said, adjusting his glasses. "The new formula seems to be so strong that the subjects flee before its very sight. I must remember to dilute it tonight."

* * *

"Hoi hoi," sighed Eiji, moving the strap of his racket carrier into a more comfortable position. "We were lucky to escape the Inui Juice!"

"Yes," agreed the slightly out-of-breath Oishi, who walked beside his friend. "If you had been a few seconds slower, we wouldn't have gotten away so easily."

Kikumaru turned to look at his friend, grinning. "Me? Why are you dumping the blame on me? You were as much late as I was."

"Ah, but you were the one who was complaining about how you didn't want to be in practice because you were hungry."

"So what?" The red-haired boy whacked his partner playfully on the shoulder. "A late regular is still a late regular!"

When they reached a crossroads between their houses, Oishi and Kikumaru bade each other good-bye for the night. ("Hey, you take care of those pearly whites, nya!" "When are you going to learn that life is not about tennis and teeth?")

As his doubles partner walked off in the opposite direction, Kikumaru Eiji turned toward the direction of his house. His bright smile dimmed… just a little bit. No normal person would have caught the wistful look in his eyes. But it was there, if only for a second.

* * *

"Oi, Kikumaru! Wake up!"

Eiji groaned as he felt someone yanking on his hair. Rolling over in his seat, he tried to shake off whoever was doing the tugging, but his actions only made his assailant more persistent. Finally surrendering, he opened one eye and found himself staring in to glowering face of Suzutachi Yuri, her black locks emphasizing her menacing face.

"Finally, Deaf Ears-san hears me!" she hissed. "Mr. Hido's already taking attendance, and you're here, sleeping through homeroom?"

Fuji chuckled from a couple of desks over. "She's been trying to wake you for five minutes now."

The redhead sighed, and unfolded legs from the top of the desk. "Suzutachi, Fuji, you worry too much." He yawned widely, then noticed a shadow fall over his desk.

"Something wrong, Mr. Kikumaru?" asked Mr. Hido, tapping his pencil on his attendance book. Our favorite happy-go-lucky tennis player sweatdropped and tried his best to stifle his yawn. "N-nothing, Mr. Hido."

"Right…" mumbled Yuri sarcastically from behind him.

* * *

Eiji yawned widely as he emerged from the classroom. "Mr. Hido's too strict… borderline paranoid."

"Really?" came a voice from behind him. "Or maybe he's just not happy that one of his students was sleeping in class and was completely oblivious to what he taught today?"

Kikumaru twitched and turned his head. Sure enough, it was Suzutachi Yuri.

"Why are you carping on me all of a sudden?" he whined.

"Because," Yuri wagged her index finger, "I don't want you to flunk class."

Kikumaru stopped walking, surprised. "Why don't you want me to flunk class?"

Yuri smiled. "Because no one deserves to fail a class if they're only fulfilling their responsibilities. And because I know that you're not stupid."

Eiji's jaw dropped. Suzutachi Yuri had said that. Suzutachi Yuri, infamous boss lady and perfectionist. She'd said that!

Yuri quirked an eyebrow at his blank expression. "Something wrong?"

"No!" he said quickly, picking his jaw off of the floor. "Nothing's wrong! It's just that… you surprised me."

Yuri smiled again, this time an annoying all-knowing grin. "Ah, I see. You didn't think that I was capable of saying anything good to anybody."

Kikumaru grinned sheepishly. "Umm… kinda…"

"How do you think I made those people do what I wanted?" she asked mockingly. "Do you think I threatened them?"

"Uhhh…"

"Whatever." Yuri turned her gaze to the crowd in front of them. "In any case, I've got to go. See you later, Kikumaru-san."

She then ran off to converse with her friend, another girl with shaggy blonde-streaked hair.

Eiji could only stare at her retreating back. What was up with that?

* * *

"Well, well, lookie here!"

Kikumaru Eiji's head snapped up. Standing in front of him was none other than Momoshiro Takeshi, the team's current manager.

"Oh, it's Momo-kouhai," he said in an off voice.

"Don't give me that!" Momoshiro scolded. "What's up with you, Kikumaru-senpai?"

"Nothing…"

Now Oishi shuffled over. "Kikumaru!" he cried in concern. "Did something happen today in school?"

Now other members drifted slowly over to the spot where Eiji sat.

"Che… never thought I'd see the day when the infamous Kikumaru Eiji zoned out. Fssssh…"

"Eiji? Why aren't you _burning_ with energy like you usually are!"

"Hmm… interesting. It shouldn't have come to pass; the chances of Kikumaru being lost in thought at practice is 0.03."

"WHAT? Are you sick, Kikumaru-senpai! Do you need to go to the office?"

"Give the man some room!" roared Coach Ryuuzaki, finally taking control over the situation since Tezuka was preoccupied with members of his fanclub.

Everyone grumbled but went back to their individual practicing.

* * *

"Oi, Eiji!"

"Nya?"

He turned in surprise to see Oishi looking slightly out-of-breath. "What's up with you today? You were completely out of it."

"Oh. Hehe… I had something on my mind," said Eiji sheepishly, scratching his head.

"I'll say! What happened must have been pretty bad."

"Well… er, I was kinda surprised."

"By what? I'd really like to know what caused you to malfunction so badly."

"Very funny, Oishi. So, you know that girl Suzutachi?"

Oishi raised his eyebrows. Talk about a random subject. "Her? Are you all worked up over her? Is that what all this is about?"

"NO! I mean, kinda." Kikumaru looked a bit flustered. "It's weird. You know how everybody says that she's this really strict and ruthless person who gets everything done?"

"Yeah; what about it?"

"Well, she said the strangest thing to me today after class."

"Was it her reply to your declaration of love?" asked Oishi, smirking.

"No! It's just… she said something about how she doesn't want me to do badly in school because I'm just fulfilling my duties. And then she told me that she knows that I'm not stupid."

"Well, that makes sense. She knows that you were tired after the tough practice that Inui put us through since she's a regular, too. And, being one of the top students in class has its perks, too. What's so weird to you, anyway?"

A light bulb lit up above Eiji's head, then quickly rained gloom upon it. "Umm… now that I look back at it, I guess that _maybe_ I didn't say the brightest thing…"

"You mean you insulted her? Eiji, that's low, even for you!"

"NOO! I just asked her why she was helping me, and I must have looked _really_ shocked when she reassured me."

Oishi thought about it. "So… you insulted her by saying that you didn't know that she could be nice."

"I never said anything like that!"

"Body language, Eiji. Body language."

Kikumaru deflated. "Yeah, I guess. But that wasn't the reason that I was weirded out. Have you noticed that my grades and behavior have suddenly gone up since the second semester started?"

"Now that you mention it, they have. Was Suzutachi not in your class before?"

"That's the thing! All through the second semester, she's been reminding me to wake up and get my homework done… no wonder my parents are happier."

"I can understand her annoyance very well," chuckled Oishi. "You're so dense sometimes, Eiji. It's a wonder that you can do so well without her watching out for you!"

"But Oishi! That's why everyone loves me!" whined Kikumaru, smiling childishly.

Oishi whacked him on the back. "Now that's the Eiji I know! But that doesn't change the fact that you have to go apologize to Suzutachi tomorrow."

"Mou, Oishi! Why do I have to go apologize? She didn't even get mad at me!"

"That doesn't change the fact that you owe her."

"Nya… fine." Kikumaru pouted as they arrived at the crossroads. "See you tomorrow!"

"You too!" Oishi waved, then turned back for one final word. "Hope you can work on that denseness of yours for tomorrow!"

"I'm not dense!" cried Eiji, stamping his foot impatiently. "Girls go after me no matter what!"

"Whatever. Good luck!"

"OISHI!"

* * *

So, how was it? I hope I did a good job on the original character. I have a pet peeve for characters whose personalities are stereotypes, so I try to make my characters multi-layered.

I also hope that I was accurate enough on the characters. I wouldn't want the real characters to be OOC.

And no, Eiji-kun's not the main character here. It's going to feature everyone. I haven't come up with all the girls yet, and I'm not planning for them to appear all at once. They're going to appear… slowly, like sunshine from the fog… yeah. So, I've only got a few.

If you have any ideas for original characters that you have come up with, please tell me. I'll be picking a few, so please contribute. The attributes I'm looking for are: a multi-layered, interesting personality, a particular player to be paired up with them, and originality. Just to tell you, Eiji, Fuji, Tezuka, Momoshiro, and Echizen are taken. Go wild with the others.


	2. The Mysterious Girl

There's More to Life Than Tennis

By BlackFeatherz29

Chapter 2

Wow, I'm overwhelmed with the positive responses that the first chapter got! Thank you so much for your reviews and OC ideas! Bank of chars already decided and slots for single regulars are at the bottom.

* * *

"Stupid Oishi," grumbled Kikumaru as he slouched into class the next morning. "Darn him and his stupid compassion, infecting my good mood…"

He hadn't gotten much sleep that night, on account of the fact that spectral forms of Oishi and Suzutachi haunted him in his sleep. He'd tossed and turned until, finally, he'd hollered, "SHUT UP! I'LL APOLOGIZE, JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Then, Nee-chan had come over and badgered about what had happened today in school ("Nothing!") and about what girl he'd upset ("What does that have to do with anything?"), and ultimately he had only had about five or four hours of sleep.

And his present condition was made worse by the fact that Suzutachi was in his class, and she was constantly drifting around his field of vision.

For this reason, he was completely awake, albeit a bit grumpy, when Mr. Hido came around for attendance.

He noticed that Suzutachi acted completely and utterly normal, even when Mr. Hido assigned the two of them with two other people for a group project. She just looked at him, smiled politely, and said, "Okay, let's get down to business."

She was good at keeping others in line, he could see. She chuckled at all of the punch lines that got thrown around (from Eiji, mostly. Hey, a man's gotta have some stimulating humor!), then forced them back to work as soon as the joke was (mostly) over. For this reason, their group finished about a fourth of the project on the first day when all the other groups were only starting it. Also, for this reason, the other two group members groaned about this being 'no fun'.

Suzutachi's answer? "Is the purpose of this project to have fun? No! You're lucky that the teacher even lets you have fun alongside the work." And, as a side comment, "And you're welcome to have fun. Isn't it fun to watch the others slave away on the last few days, panicking out of their minds because their project isn't done?"

This drew a laugh from Eiji and the others, and they discussed the distribution of the workload for the night before they parted.

He'd almost forgotten what he was supposed to do by the time class ended, but catching sight of Suzutachi packing up her books, the memory came back with a snap.

'Oh… crap.'

* * *

"Suzutachi!"

Yuri raised her head when she heard her name being called out. "Yes…?" she turned around to see Kikumaru walking purposefully toward her.

"Suzutachi… um, about yesterday…"

Yuri waved a hand impatiently. "Oh, it's nothing. I get that all the time."

"Oh." Eiji thought a moment, but then shrugged. "Well, Oishi said I should apologize, so, sorry."

Yuri smiled pleasantly. "No problem. Sorry to you if I made you feel uncomfortable. My reputation is just too uptight, so people have a habit of underestimating me in the emotional department."

"Hehe…" Eiji scratched his head. "I never have that problem."

"No, you don't," said Yuri, an evil smile growing on her face. "A slacker like you never has problems with your education's reputation."

"Hey! You were the one who said that it wasn't my fault that I fell asleep in class yesterday!"

Grinning a rather feral grin, Yuri picked up her schoolbag. "Yep, I did say that. But, it's still fun to mess with your head. Ja!"

And with that, she exited the classroom.

* * *

"Oi, ochibi! Feeling good today?" yelled Eiji, glomping the younger boy.

"Nice to see you, too, Kikumaru-senpai," groaned Ryoma, trying vainly to pry his senpai's arms off.

"Eiji…" stammered Kawamura, "I don't think that it's a good idea to suffocate Echizen-kun…"

"Aw, stuff it, Taka-san!" said Eiji jovially, shoving a tennis racket into Kawamura's hand with his free arm. Taking this chance, Ryoma broke free and sprinted away.

"Come back, ochibi!" cried Kikumaru. "I'm not done with you yet!"

"Ne, I don't think you should terrorize Echizen so much, Eiji," said Oishi soothingly.

"I'M BURNING!" screamed Kawamura, tearing out of the storage house after the freshman.

Eiji picked up his racket, running a hand through his hair. "But it's fun."

* * *

"So, what were you so zoned out about yesterday, Eiji-senpai?" asked Momoshiro slyly as they tennis club prepared for their runs around the court.

"Nya?" asked Kikumaru, soundly clueless even though he fully well knew what was coming next.

"Oh, him?" answered Oishi from beside him.

Eiji sent him a warning look, but Oishi just kept on talking. "There wasn't anything wrong with him. He was just worked up over a girl."

"Oishi!" Kikumaru hissed as Momoshiro's face twisted maniacally. Luckily, the stampeding feet of the people running preoccupied the regulars. Just in time.

Just as the first lap was done (and Kachiro, Katou, and Horio were busy clutching their throats due to the new and improved Platinum Deluxe Power Inui Juice version 4.0 that Inui was currently serving up), Momoshiro sidled sneakily up to Kikumaru, gesturing for Oishi to do the same.

"So, Kikumaru-senpai," said Momoshiro coyly as they jogged along. "What girl were you involved with?"

Kikumaru glared at him, but said lightly, "I know a lot of girls since they love me so. Which one are you talking about?"

"Don't try and play dumb," panted Oishi as he came running up beside Eiji. "Suzutachi, remember?"

Eiji gulped, and sweat beaded on his brow.

"Suzutachi-senpai?" asked Momoshiro, shocked. "You're going out with Suzutachi, of all people?"

"NO!" yelled Eiji, loud enough for some nearby people to hear. "I'm not going out with anybody!"

"Then what was yesterday about? Did she dump you or something?"

Oishi then leveled his gaze at Eiji, ignoring Momoshiro's teasing. "You _did_ apologize to her, right?"

Kikumaru sighed, and answered tiredly, "Yes, I apologized."

"And…?"

"And, she said that it happened all the time and it wasn't a big deal. Now leave me alone, nya?"

"Ooh!" cried Momoshiro beside them, squealing like a schoolgirl. "Eiji-senpai got in t-r-o-u-b-l-e for saying something rude to a girl! How could you, senpai? And all these years, I thought you were _experienced_…"

"What are you doing here anyway?" asked Kikumaru, annoyed. "Aren't you supposed to be the manager and not the other way around?"

"True, but I wanted a chance to talk to you, and Inui enjoys making his crazy concoctions so much, so I let him."

But before Momoshiro could say more, Tezuka called, "Your paces is slowing down! Faster, or else!"

No one asked what he meant. No one needed to.

* * *

"Ne, Oishi?"

"Hmm?"

"What do you think of Suzutachi?"

"Why do you want to know? You weren't lying about before, were you?"

"Am I the type of person who would lie, Oishi?" whined Eiji, putting on a cute puppy face.

Oishi laughed lightly at his friend's antics. "No, of course not. But seriously, why do you want to know?"

"Because she's weird, and she scares me a little."

"She scares you?" asked Oishi, a little confused.

"Yeah." Kikumaru looked up at the sky for a moment. "It's like she's a completely different person sometimes, and I can't figure her out."

Oishi nodded slowly, mulling this over. "I guess that's scary to you, huh? Someone who is the exact opposite of you, who is unpredictable in mood."

"Yeah! Why does anyone even do that? It's not natural."

"Maybe, but I feel that there's more to Suzutachi than she lets on."

* * *

Okay, pretty short chapter. Thus ends the first little story, with Kikumaru as the main character. Next one is going to be pretty different, so watch out!

I wonder if I made Eiji OOC in this chapter…? Well, he's kind of hard to make in character when he's serious. And, he's bound to be embarrassed about this girl who he's actually interested in, instead of pretending to be close to all those girls because he's Mr. Kawaii. I'm not making sense, am I?

Anyway, I have the character profiles for the original characters that I have currently. Thank you so much, everyone, for sending in so many ideas!

Oh, and Kohaku-chan, who will be appearing in the next chapter, is not paired with Tezuka anymore, but with Oishi. Thus, Tezuka is available for the taking.

One of the issues that have been encountered is Tomoka and Kaidoh, or Ayumi and Kaidoh? Both have them have some similar elements, so please submit your opinion of these pairings.

Original characters:

Name: Suzutachi Yuri

Year: 3

Hair: Black, mid-back

Height: 157 cm

Status: Girl's tennis regular, head of manga club, member of writing club

Misc: Glasses

Favorite classes: Science, History, Art, Orchestra

Personality: Strict and ruthless on outside, soft on inside. Usually is the one who dictates and orders everyone around.

Paired with: Kikumaru Eiji

Name: Morigawa Kohaku

Year: 3

Hair: Brown with blond highlights, shoulder length, shaggy

Height: 168 cm

Status: Girl's tennis regular, head of writing club, member of manga club, member of Tezuka's fanclub

Misc: Can be considered insane

Favorite classes: Physics, English, Art, Orchestra

Personality: Random and funny on outside, intolerant and tough on inside. Also very outspoken about everything, including the types of guys she finds hot.

Paired with: Oishi Syuichiroh

Name: Kuroki Aiko

Year: 2

Hair: black, usually kept in high ponytail

Height: 159 cm

Status: Member of track team, class rep

Misc: Usually looks unremarkable

Favorite classes: Gym, World History, choir

Personality: Usually is the peacemaker and the one who everyone goes to for comfort. Very sincere, and always smiling, even with anger. Has inner conflicts about whether she should value herself more than she values others. Sometimes wonders why she does what she does, but realizes that she just can't stand cruelty.

Paired with: Fuji Syuusuke

Name: Nakamura Ayumi

Year: 2

Hair: brown, shoulder length, wavy

Height: 162 cm

Status: Member of the Kendo Club

Misc: A silver necklace with a rose pendant

Favorite classes: English, biology, sports

Personality: Hyperactive in appearance but quiet in reality. Wants to be accepted for a true self and not for the one people can see. Sad that her parents only pay attention to her elder brother who is studying in the USA. Nevertheless, always ties to do her best even if she is just an average student with average marks and not many friends

Paired with: Kaidoh Kaoru

Name: Ichihana Gina

Year: 3

Hair: shoulder length brown hair.

Height: 150 cm

Status: Part of photography club

Misc: Very delicate, in more ways than one.

Favorite classes: English, History, and Physical Education

Personality: shy and quiet. She doesn't think very highly of herself and thinks her photographs are crap. Optimistic when it comes to others. Gets nervous around others a lot, and blushes when they help her out with things.

Paired with: Kawamura Takashi

(Sorry, Fuji and Eiji's Girl! I haven't decided yet for Yoko Tomo, so while I smooth out the edges, please be patient. Your character's profile will appear in the next chapter!)


	3. Kohaku Attack!

There's More to Life Than Tennis

By BlackFeatherz29

Chapter 3

Thank you very much for your reviews. However, being the miserly author that I am, I'm wondering why I only got 3 reviews for the last chapter. Hmm… somehow, the second chapter is always the most unpopular with readers. Oh, well. New couple coming up. Suzutachi and Kikumaru are not through yet, but Kohaku and Oishi is going to be a lot of fun… Nyahahaha…

* * *

Oishi Syuichiroh unlocked the door to his house, and stepped inside. It was a typical afternoon in the Oishi household. Both of his parents were at work, leaving him to take care of himself and the house until they came home at around ten o' clock every night. Perhaps this is where he earned the nickname, "The Mother of Seigaku".

Setting down his tennis bag on the floor of his room, he checked his clock. 5:53. Time to make dinner.

He made a simple dinner with leftover croquettes from yesterday, some white rice, and fried vegetables. Oishi liked to eat slowly, savoring the food that he was lucky to have, and allow himself to feel comfortably tired after the tough tennis practices and long days at school. The semi-darkness and sounds of crickets chirping were music to his ears after the hustle and bustle of life.

Finishing up his meal, he walked back to his room and dragged out his homework. English. Good. That was easy to do.

Immersed in adverbs and propositions, he almost didn't catch his doorbell ringing.

Frowning on being interrupted, he got up from his desk and went to check whom it was.

Looking through the tiny peephole, Oishi got the scare of his life. For there was a hazel-and-white eyeball staring straight at his face.

He yelped in shock, then proceeded to recover, telling himself that he was overreacting. Nevertheless, he felt dread building in his stomach. There was only one person who had that shade of eyes, and who could pull off such a disturbing look.

His fears were confirmed when he heard a female voice laughing at him behind the door. "You shoulda seen the look on your face when you screamed, 'Chiroh-kun!"

Oh, no.

He cautiously stepped up to the door, unlocked it, and opened it just enough so that he could peer out. Seeing that this was indeed the person he was dreading, he quickly tried to shut the door, but a hand shot out and forced its way in, knocking him over in the process.

A girl stood on Oishi's doorstep, beaming down at him. Rather wolfishly, he might add. Bright hazel eyes were currently focused on his shuddering form, curled up under her gaze.

"'Chiroh-kun!" she cried, bending down. "Why the horrified face?"

"…"

The girl pretended not to notice Oishi's silence, busy pulling him to his feet.

"Wha-what are you doing here, Morigawa-san?" he stuttered as he dusted off his black pants.

"Kohaku!" she corrected, taking off her street shoes. "Call me Kohaku. We haven't been neighbors forever so you could go and call me 'Morigawa-san'!"

Oishi carefully restated his question. "Ah. Then… Kohaku-san, what are you doing here?"

"My parents told me to go over to your house if I needed anything because they're out, and right now, I need help with my Geometry."

"Ah…" Oishi stared at her as she stepped into his house. "Ano, Kohaku-san, maybe we should get started if you need help with your math…"

However, she had different things on her mind.

"Ooh, what's this shiny stuff on this crappy thing?" she exclaimed, poking at a bit of silver glitter on an old art project. "It's silver-colored!"

Oishi blushed slightly. "Um… it's my art project from when I was in daycare…"

"Really? Wow, you really laid that stuff on thick… it's falling ever so slowly onto the carpet!"

By this time, he had forcibly propelled her down the hall toward his room. She didn't seem the slightest bit offended. In fact, she seemed to enjoy it, screaming, "Wheee!" while sliding in her socks on the wooden floor.

Arriving in Oishi's room, she pranced around, looking at pictures and whatnot hanging on the walls.

"Ooh! That's so good! Did Fuji-san take that?"

"Ah, yes—"

"And would you look at that. Lil' 'Chiroh-kun, playing tennis! SO CUTE!"

"A-ano…"

"Hey! That's Tezuka-sama! He looks so COOL!"

"Yes, um, Kohaku-san, don't you want to start on your homework?"

She glanced at him, still drooling over Tezuka on the team picture. Sighing slightly, she settled down and sat at his desk.

"Okay, okay. Let's start on this _isometry_ thing; I really don't get it…"

And so, when Oishi's parents arrived back home at ten, they found their son painstakingly trying to explain the ideas of translations and transformations on the coordinate plane to a confused and pissed-off looking girl.

* * *

"Oishi, why are you so tired today?" asked his doubles partner, Kikumaru.

"Oh." Oishi yawned another time, blinking several times to try and keep his eyes open. "Um, I was kind of kept up by someone, so I didn't get to finish my homework until midnight."

"That's rough, nya," answered Kikumaru sympathetically while trying to stick his straw in a juice box. "Who was it?"

"My neighbor, Morigawa."

Kikumaru choked and nearly spit out his juice. "HER?"

"Eiji!" cried Oishi, grabbing a bunch of napkins. "Don't choke out the juice; it's gross!"

"Sorry!" gasped Kikumaru while thumping himself on his chest. "But Morigawa? The one who stalks people she likes around the hallways and never stops talking?"

"The one and only."

"Man, I feel bad for you, Oishi-senpai." Momoshiro had come over, followed by Echizen and Fuji.

"Ochibi-chan!" shrieked Eiji, trying to glomp him over the side of the desk. Ryoma glared at him, and excused himself to go sit far away so that his senpai could not touch him.

Momoshiro took a big bite of his bread. "I fel bahd fer ya both." Swallowing, he continued. "How come you two are getting involved with those girls?"

"Who, me?" asked Kikumaru innocently while Oishi put his head in his hands.

"Yes! Suzutachi-senpai and Morigawa-senpai: the strange artistic pair that is never without the other!"

Kikumaru twitched as he declared, "I told you before, I don't have anything to do with her!"

"Says you," muttered Echizen as he quietly ate his bento.

"That woman is the equivalent of a raging lioness! She never shuts up about my grades, and she keeps giving me training schedules for my schoolwork! She's like Inui, only ten times worse!"

"Hmm… then there is a 87 percent chance that your schoolwork will rise one letter grade in the next four weeks…"

"INUI!" everybody except Fuji and Echizen screeched. "DON'T DO THAT!"

Inui had magically popped out of nowhere and was now sitting next to Oishi.

"But we're getting off of the subject," Momoshiro insisted, finishing his piece of bread and opening up a new one. "Why are you tutoring Morigawa, Oishi-senpai?"

Oishi raised his head from his hands and sighed heavily. "She's my neighbor, and my parents want them to see what a kind, considerate boy their son is compared to their brash daughter. Plus, she never leaves me alone."

As if on cue, a female voice called, "Hi, 'Chiroh-kun! Talking about me?"

Morigawa Kohaku was there, beaming brightly (and slightly evilly) at him, followed by a bored-looking Suzutachi Yuri.

Oishi blinked in surprise then said calmly, "Oh. Hi, Kohaku-san. Hi, Suzutachi-san."

Meanwhile, Kikumaru's reaction was radically different. "YOU!" he screamed, jabbing a finger at her.

Yuri rolled her eyes as if she were trying to lecture law to an infant. "Why so surprised? I did say that I was never going to let you go until you get at least a B+ on all your classes."

"I know…" moaned Kikumaru, burying his face in his arms, but it came out sounding more like "Eeooo…"

Yuri didn't hesitate to yank his hair back and forced him to sit upright again. "Now, now, my little student, you wouldn't want to fail class, right?"

Eiji whimpered, vividly remembering the torturous lecture she had given him about the bad things that would happen if he dropped out of high school or failed the college entrance exam. "Y-yes 'm."

"Good." She released him, but gave him a light punch on the shoulder as an afterthought. "And don't forget to come to the library today; you and I are going to be having a very special study session with new American SAT practice books that I got for you…"

Meanwhile, Kohaku was happily ranting about pointless things that had no relevance whatsoever to what the boys had been talking about before, completely oblivious to the grimaces they had on their faces from listening too long. The only exception was Fuji, whose smile grew a little wider every minute Kohaku spent flapping her lips. 'I could really learn something from her. Torture by talking…'

"And yesterday, 'Chiroh-kun was nice enough to help me with my isometry! I swear, that Hakuto-sensei just gives us a textbook and an assignment and doesn't do anything. She just sits there and lectures us on the evils of putting values in fractional form…"

Oishi swore that he thought his head was going to explode. Between Kohaku's random ramblings, Kikumaru's screaming, and his severe lack of sleep, he felt like dying right then and there.

"Someone… please… stop… this…"

Thud.

* * *

Haha! Poor Oishi and Kikumaru. Them and their torturous girlfriends; how very unlucky. Don't worry. I won't let them be tortured too long. This is, after all, drama/romance, not merely humor/romance. There will be some angst kicking in sometime later as well as new girls.

Hope you won't mind the length of the chapter. About 1,500 for the story itself every time, and about a week to write it, okay? I've never updated this fast before :P

Still have not decided for Yoko Tomo! What type of girl for Inui… hmm, something artistic? Maybe.

Good suggestion for the Kaidoh/Tomoka and Kaidoh/Ayumi issue: Have a Kaidoh/Tomoka pairing while Ayumi gets paired up with Tezuka. Buchou hates chatty, hyperactive girls, right:P


	4. The Two Smiles

There's More to Life Than Tennis

By BlackFeatherz29

Chapter 4

Hehehehehe… yesh, I am very evil. I liketh torturing the Golden Pair! But only a little, because I like them. (glomps) But, this fic gets a lot more serious in this chapter. Starring… Fuji Syuusuke and Kuroki Aiko: THE SMILEY PEOPLE! (Fuji and Aiko give almost identical gentle smiles)

Ah! I forgot to put a disclaimer the last two times. My bad. I don't own any of the Seigaku boys, but I do own several of girls. Some of the other girls belong to other authors who helped me out with the OC issue. Thanks, people!

* * *

She looked out of the window, toward the people outside. It was the Seigaku boys tennis club, out on their early morning practice. She could see the members practicing their individual swings, chatting amongst themselves. The coach was yelling at somebody, and the captain was making a bubbly redhead run laps. A spiky-haired geeky regular was knelt down next to the bench, mixing something. Two other regulars were competing in a friendly match against one another while a short one leaned against the wire fence, sipping some juice. A regular with a perpetual smile was rallying against one who struck back with great force.

Her smile widened with joy. Life was going along. All was well.

* * *

He looked out of the window, toward the people outside. It was the Seishun Gakuen girls track team, performing their warm-up exercises. He could see members stretching their muscles, talking animatedly with friends. The coach was scribbling on a piece of paper on a clipboard, talking with one of the runners. The captain was participating in the same warm-ups that the others were doing, only distinguishable by a patch on her blue-and-white jacket. A blonde runner was running short laps around the pitch, stopping now and then to take a break. Several more were doing push-ups on the grass while a runner with a high ponytail was sitting under the tree, doing handstands.

His smile grew forced and painful. Life was going along. All was not well.

* * *

Kuroki Aiko yawned, stretching her sore muscles. "I'm so tired today," she remarked, unwrapping her bento box.

Nakamura Ayumi glared at her friend. "Again? Aiko, you need to stop working so hard!"

"Maybe," sighed Aiko sheepishly, "but I can't let everyone down. I have to do my very best every time, even if it makes me lose sleep. Sleep is replaceable; grades are not."

Ayumi pursed her lips. "You're too selfless for your own good! You never replace your sleep anyway because you're too busy working on other stuff."

"Aw, lay off, Ayumi!" Aiko cried, feigning tears. "Really, I don't need any help."

"Right…"

Fuji Syuusuke was still in a bad mood because of this morning. Yumiko had predicted that he would be late had he followed his normal schedule, so he took her advice and arrived at school half an hour early, just in time to see the girl's track team practicing for their meet. There was something… something about their bright smiles that made him fell nauseous all of a sudden…

Of course, nobody knew this except those who were unfortunate enough to cross his path. His gentle-looking smile hid everything that was going on behind it, successfully convincing people that he was a genius at tennis but a simpleton at everything else.

Picking up his lunch, Fuji wandered over to where Kikumaru and Suzutachi were arguing. Apparently, she was upset over his English test grades (he had gotten a C+), and he didn't care.

'They look like they're enjoying themselves,' thought Fuji. 'Better not disturb their lover's quarrel.'

Instead, he headed over to an unoccupied desk next to two girls, Kuroki and Nakamura. He recognized Kuroki as the girl on the track team that always wore a ponytail and Nakamura as Kikumaru's constant gossip partner. Coming up behind them, he set his lunch down on a table, then asked, "Mind if I sit here?"

Aiko blinked with surprise but recovered quickly, smiling. "Sure, go ahead."

Fuji nodded and sat down, giving her an almost identical smile. He ate silently, half-listening to the girls' conversation but not really comprehending. That is, until Ayumi unexpectedly exclaimed, "Hey, I just noticed that you and Fuji look almost identical!"

Fuji and Aiko's eyes snapped open as they stared at her in shock.

Ayumi rambled on. "Yeah! You know, the way both of you always smile in that deadpan way like everything makes you happy."

Aiko and Fuji took a good look at each other. 'Am I really that similar?' they asked themselves.

* * *

"Nya?" asked Kikumaru, rubbing his ear in fear that he had not caught that last part.

"You heard me!" hissed Ayumi, glancing back at Fuji and Aiko, both with blissfully blank smiles on their faces. "Won't they make a cute couple, since they're always so happy?"

"Hoi…" Eiji mumbled, recovering from his initial shock and mulling it over in his mind. Then an evil grin came across his face, twisting one corner of his mouth up abnormally high. "Yes… yes, they would. I've always wanted to see what was under Fuji's smile… and torture him instead of the other way around…"

Thus, the fate of Syuusuke Fuji and Kuroki Aiko was sealed by the sneaky team of Kikumaru Eiji and Nakamura Ayumi.

* * *

Kuroki Aiko sighed as she put her gym clothes in her schoolbag. Today's practice had been especially grueling, what with the coach timing their mile runs around the school. Luckily, she hadn't gotten a bad score, but it still had its numbing effect on her legs.

Stepping out from the locker room, she noticed that her friend Sumi wasn't waiting for her.

'Of course,' she thought, remembering that Sumi had been absent that day. 'I'm such an idiot.'

So, she began walking toward Seishun Gakuen's main gate.

Well hidden under the shadow of the locker room, Eiji and Kohaku waited for Fuji to show up.

"Are you sure this is the right thing to do?" asked Oishi's voice from the communicator. He and Ayumi had gone in the opposite direction to track Kuroki's progress.

"Of course!" Kikumaru hissed, his eyes glued to the scene of Fuji walking in the same direction. "We're only doing this for their happiness, right?"

"Right…" answered Kohaku, smirking wolfishly in anticipation of romance. "Only for their happiness…"

"Look!" whispered Ayumi to her partner, jabbing her finger at Kuroki walking up the path to the school gates. "She's coming!"

Fuji Syuusuke wore his ever-present smile as he strode toward the school gates, tennis bag in hand. He suspected nothing.

Kikumaru quickly estimated the time that it would take him to walk to the same location. "Perfect timing!"

"Mission success!" crowed Kohaku, forgetting that she had been hiding. Kikumaru quickly clapped a hand over her mouth to silence her. Luckily, neither Kuroki nor Fuji heard a thing.

Aiko was suddenly aware of someone walking behind her, just out of sight because of the glare from the sun. Panic blossomed in her chest.

'Am I being followed?' she thought. 'Is it some old guy who wants to kidnap me?'

It seems that someone has been watching too many horror movies lately.

With an enormous amount of effort, she took a peek behind her. It was Fuji Syuusuke, the one who Ayumi had said looked like her.

She let out a heavy sigh. She reminded herself never to stay up to watch any more horror movie marathons ever again.

"Hello, Fuji-san," she greeted cheerfully.

Fuji started a bit when he saw Kuroki turn and greet him, but relaxed. 'She's just a classmate. There's no need to be alarmed.'

"Hello, Kuroki-san. Are you in a sports club?"

"Yes, I am. You are in the tennis club, correct?"

"Yes. I assume that this is the reason that you are going home at this time.

"Uh huh."

She looked toward the brilliant sky, painted with hues of glowing red, orange, and yellow. "Isn't it beautiful?" she asked off-handedly.

"What is?"

"The sky," Aiko answered dreamily. "It looks so liquid that it's going to bleed down on us."

Fuji frowned, confused. "Um…"

"The beauty of this world is truly mind-blowing, isn't it?" she asked to no one in particular. "Kami made this world in seven days, but look how wonderful it is. Makes you wonder how He made it."

Mission: success. Now to see if the subjects will make a good match.

* * *

Sorry for the shortness (once again). Also, if any of you are non-Christian out there, please don't criticize. I meant for Aiko to be kind of spiritual, since it suited her personality, even though I know that Christianity isn't all that popular in Japan. But, hey, people aren't getting persecuted for being Christian, right? Anyhoo, Aiko wasn't exactly born in Japan, so I think it would be more natural for her to be Christian.

This section about Fuji and Aiko is meant to be somewhat angsty: The fake smile, and the real smile. How different can you get?

Anyway, I've come up with the profile for Yoko Tomo. Sorry, Fuji and Eiji's Girl; I totally changed her personality! Here it is:

Name: Yoko Tomo

Year: 3

Hair: blonde, waist length

Height: 165 cm

Status: Girl's tennis regular, member of manga club, member of photography club

Misc: Gets in trouble with teachers a lot because of dress code

Favorite classes: Gym, Ancient History, Art

Personality: Is the artistic type that has a somewhat mysterious air. Wears strange necklaces and earrings all the time that she makes herself. Usually stays out of conversations and arguments the best she can, but many people look up to her, so she can't stay completely out. Seems to have an uncaring attitude, but has been known on occasion to help out underclassmen.

Paired with: Inui Sadaharu


	5. Katanas and M&Ms

There's More to Life Than Tennis

By BlackFeatherz29

Chapter 5

Where we left off last time, Fuji and Aiko were walking home. Now, let us peek into their mysterious souls… and see their love blossom… (gets shot) This is another installment on the Fuji and Aiko part, as you can see. It will continue for possible one or two more chapters, then I will focus on a new couple. Oh, the Eiji and Yuri thing also occurs.

Please appreciate this new chapter, since I nearly killed the Document Manager becuase it wouldn't let me upload fortwo freaking days. Yeah.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Prince of Tennis characters besides Yuri, Kohaku, or Aiko. They are OCs.

* * *

The phone rang loudly. Fuji Syuusuke groaned as he tried to ignore it, but was interrupted by Yuuta's voice yelling, "Aniki! You get the phone!"

So, he had to laboriously lift his heavy arm up and pick up the receiver.

"Hello?" he asked sleepily. For contrary to popular belief, Fuji was not a morning person. In fact, he hated mornings even more than the average person did. He just didn't show it.

"Hoi hoi, Fuji!" exclaimed Eiji's cheerful voice. "You sound tired!" Now there was Seigaku's morning boy.

"Hai… do you need something?"

"Oh, Suzutachi and me are at the library right now, and we decided to go see a movie. Wanna come?"

Fuji considered his options. He could either go (but have to get out of bed) or not go (but have to withstand Kikumaru's whining). He chose not to hear any more of Eiji's annoying puppy voice. "Sa, I'll go. At what time?"

"Nya, I knew you'd turn around! Meet me at the entrance to the street tennis place in an hour, 'kay? I finally have someone to hang out with besides Lioness!" Here came Yuri's irritated reply to his comment, "A lioness, at least, is better than an annoying neko."

"Okay. See you."

Throwing on a random shirt and a pair of pants, Fuji made his way downstairs to the smell of Yuuta cooking.

"Morning, otouto," he greeted.

"Morning, aniki." Yuuta paused in his work to stare at his brother. "Hey, aniki, why are you up so early?"

"Hn?"

"You never get up earlier than noon on Saturday mornings, but this time it's only nine. What's going on?"

"Sa… I've got an appointment with a friend in an hour."

"Oh, I see." Yuuta turned back to his cooking. "Is it a girl?"

"A girl? No, no, Yuuta, it's not a date. I'm just going to the movies with my friend and his girlfriend."

God knows what would have happened right then if Kikumaru and Suzutachi had heard that.

* * *

Just as promised, Eiji and Yuri were waiting at the entrance to the place where various regulars practiced. Kikumaru pouting at something, and Suzutachi was tapping her foot impatiently.

"Oh, hi, Fuji," greeted Eiji when Fuji arrived.

"Gomen, gomen," said Fuji, smiling. "I'm sorry I'm late; Yuuta burned our breakfast."

"Nya, you're okay."

"You're just in time," replied Yuri a bit offhandedly. "We're waiting for one more person to arrive."

"Another person's coming?"

"Yeah, Kuroki, from our class. I made her come out today to prevent her from working herself to death on that project that the teacher assigned."

"Ah." Kuroki Aiko, that girl from the track team. The one that had been bothering him all night. "Isn't she on the track team?"

"Hai. Kikumaru's informed me that she looks very much like you."

"Honto?"

Several minutes later, a harried Aiko came hurrying to their meeting spot.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" she gasped, skidding to a stop and catching her breath. "I was so caught up in reading Jane Eyre that I lost track of time…"

"No need to apologize, Kuroki!" cried Eiji, excited at the prospect of hanging out with a new friend. "We're all here now!"

"Right," replied Yuri, glancing at her watch. "If we hurry, then we can make the movie."

"Movie?" inquired Aiko, tossing her ponytail over her shoulder. "I thought we were just going to decide…"

"I've already decided."

"Nani!" yelled Kikumaru, shooting a glare at Yuri's impassive face. "Who went ahead and gave you the right to choose everything for us?"

"Relax, Kikumaru," replied Yuri coolly. "I merely did it to save time and energy. You can be sure that I put all of our best interests at mind."

"I don't mind," said Fuji and Kuroki at the same time. Both looked a bit curiously at each other.

"Right, so it's settled." So they set off toward the movie theater, hoping that the movie Suzutachi had picked out for them was a good one.

It turned out to be the new samurai movie that had come out about a week ago. It was actually very good, considering the fact that Suzutachi picked it out herself without consulting anyone.

Of course, Fuji didn't really pay very much attention to it. He was too busy regarding the man who he sat behind with a somewhat sadistic interest in his gelled hair.

Eiji, being Eiji, had forced them to each get some movie candy, and Fuji was now having fun seeing how many M&Ms he could place between the rigid spikes of hair without them falling off or the man noticing. In the end, he'd been successful enough to position about twenty candies before the end of the film, when the victim had risen in his seat to find chocolate candies streaming off of the crown of his head. By then, the group had disappeared, leaving the man to accuse some innocent teenagers a few seats over.

Aiko, who had been sitting beside Fuji, had been torn between watching samurai in topknots fight with katanas and staring in morbid fascination at him precariously placing tiny candies in an unwary man's hair. Being the worrywart she was, the first thought that came to mind was telling Fuji to stop tormenting the poor man. She had heard about his reputation for extreme sadism, but finding him to be a very nice boy, she didn't believe it.

For the rest of the movie, she had argued with herself about whether to tell Fuji to stop or to leave him be. After all, even if he did stop, how would he get all the M&Ms out again without alerting the man? Finally, she decided to just let him be. Kids will be kids. By then, the movie was over, and Kikumaru was dragging them out of the movie theater. She was grateful that they hadn't been in there when the man had found out.

* * *

"…and that one scene, when the guy declared his love and killed his opponent! That was awesome!" raged Eiji.

"Well, it appears that the neko has been pleased," observed Yuri dryly. "What did the rest of you think of the movie?"

"Uh… it was okay," replied Fuji, concealing the fact that he hadn't been paying attention.

"It was fine," agreed Aiko.

"Hoi hoi!" exclaimed Eiji suddenly. "I feel like playing some tennis!" They'd come across the street tennis place again.

"But we don't have any rackets or balls, smart one," informed Yuri sarcastically. "How do you play tennis without a racket?"

"Maybe Momo or Echizen are there and they'll let us borrow their stuff for a while," he shot bad, unpreturbed. "Besides, you're on the girl's tennis team, right? You're not scared to be beaten to a pulp, right?"

Yuri growled faintly, declaring, "Bring it on, neko!"

By this time, they had reached the top of the stairs. Fuji noticed that there was the sound of a ball hitting the ground, telling him that there was indeed someone there.

Imagine their surprise when it turned out to be Mizuki and Yuuta, practicing their serves.

"Aniki!" exclaimed the younger Fuji sibling. "I thought you were going to the movies?"

"I did. It just ended, so we decided to come here to play some street tennis."

Mizuki couldn't have been more delighted. "Well, well! It's Fuji Syuusuke, the tensai. I've been wanted to have a go against you for some time."

Fuji chuckled, remembering their game vividly. "Sa… you see, we don't have any rackets to play with."

"No matter. You can use Yuuta's."

"Hey!"

"No, it's not like that," interrupted Aiko. "Suzutachi and Kikumaru want to play each other."

Mizuki blinked a few times, realizing that there were two girls in their group. "Ah. I see." He looked disappointed as he handed his racket to Kikumaru.

However, as Eiji took it, Mizuki's face changed. "Kikumaru, tell me the truth. Does Fuji have a girlfriend?"

Kikumaru frowned, then broke out in a wide grin. "Of course he does!"

"What's her name?"

"Kuroki Aiko. They may look distant to each other, but they're definitely a couple."

"What're you whispering about over there?" asked Yuri accusingly, glaring at Kikumaru and Mizuki.

"Nothing!"

The latter started walking away, but not before he delivered a parting shot. "You've got a tough girlfriend over there."

Kikumaru was stunned speechless. Mizuki didn't notice as he motioned for Yuuta to give his racket to Suzutachi.

As soon as she received it, she brandished it dangerously. "You're going down, neko!"

* * *

Next chapter is the match between Yuri and Eiji. It'll be fun to write a tennis match… I've never done one before. Wish me luck! And I'll most definitely update in about a week!

Sorry I'm spending so little time on each character (especially Kohaku), but I want to introduce then all first in some way or form to prepare them for future arcs. I'm kinda spending a lot of time on the Fuji and Aiko part, but that will be the first couple that will I will go really in depth with. The next one I'll do will be either Ryoma and Sakuno, Ann and Momoshiro, Kaidoh, Tomoka, and Horio, Gina and Kawamura, or Inui and Tomo. I want to lay off Tezuka and Ayumi until later.

Please review! Make me feel appreciated!


	6. Matchmaking on the Tennis Court

There's More to Life Than Tennis

By BlackFeatherz29

Chapter 6

Another chappie… I'm having a lot of fun writing this fic, you know! I'm as addicted to writing it as you are to reading it (I wish!), and I wish I could just write this fic all day instead of doing homework. Blech. Lots of SS fact sheets, plus Algebra make-up homework, and French project. Anyhoo, I'm just itching to update since I really finished this chapter a few days ago, so here it is.

This is the last chapter that is mostly focused on Fuji and Aiko, so this one is quite a bit shorter than the others. But, I must introduce all the girls first, ne? Besides, I already spent three chapters (including this one) on them, and the rest of the regulars must have their turn.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the PoT boys, but I own most of the girls except Sakuno, Ann, and Tomoka.

* * *

"You're going down, neko!" 

"Oh, nya? You're they one who's going down!"

Aiko chuckled a bit nervously. "Sounds like they're having fun. Um, are you sure we should let them be, Fuji-san?"

"Hai," replied Fuji, mouth curved upward in an amused smile. "They won't hurt each other too badly, and besides, no pain, no gain."

"Ah…"

Mizuki, refereeing, called out, "Kikumaru, to serve!"

Eiji lost no time in showing off his acrobatic tennis as he and Suzutachi rallied against one another. It seemed like he had the advantage on the court, since his flexible body could block all of her shots easily. But, Fuji could see a calculating look in her eye.

Yuri didn't bat an eyelash when Mizuki announced, "Game, Kikumaru! One game to love!"

"You sure you're good enough to play me?" teased the red-haired player.

Yuri just got into position in the center of her side of the court. "Shut up, neko. Your arrogant attitude isn't going to last another game."

As Kikumaru's serve came hitting into the left side of the court, she raced to catch it. When he hit into the other side, she also caught it. They both rallied, neither willing to give the point up.

"I told you I wasn't going to let you get the game," said Yuri quietly before abruptly performed a drop shot over the net.

Kikumaru panicked, not expecting it. The ball escaped his clutches, losing him the point.

"Suzutachi, 15 to love!"

It soon became clear that Suzutachi was the one who really had the advantage. She was everything Kikumaru wasn't: a strategy-type player who planned well in advance and played the game like a board. Add her experience in singles, and it was obvious why she had made it onto the girls' regular team.

Eiji, however, wasn't going to let her get away with winning. Seeing as Suzutachi had been observing his playing style during the first game, he changed his style into a more conservative one concentrating more on power and guesswork than flexiblility.

"Game, Suzutachi! Five games to three!"

Both players were tired and panting on the court.

"You're good, nya," gasped Kikumaru, grinning at his opponent.

"You too," answered Yuri, just as tired. "Let's finish this."

In the end, they tied. No matter how hard one fought, the other one refused to five up. They just played till they were too exhausted to move.

* * *

During the game, Aiko looked closely at the boy sitting beside her. Fuji was sitting ramrod straight, smile strangely absent from his face. His bright blue eyes were open, fixed unblinkingly at the two tennis players running to and fro on the court. It was as if he had changed into a completely different person when watching tennis. 

He was certainly an odd one.

Aiko, meanwhile, had almost no idea of what was happening on the court. She had taken tennis classes before and knew that the object of the game was to hit the ball into your opponent's side of the court so that they couldn't reach it, and she knew the basic structure of the scoring system. But besides that, Aiko could only see Eiji and Yuri running around the court, hitting balls back and forth.

"Ano, Fuji-san?"

Fuji was startled out of his study of the game by a soft voice beside him. "Hmm?"

"You play tennis, right?"

"Hai. I'm on the team with Eiji."

"Well… I don't understand most of what they're doing out on there, so could you help me?"

Fuji considered her request. "Sure. There, Kikumaru is using his specialty, acrobatic tennis..."

And so, Fuji kept up a running commentary for Aiko, who tried very hard to understand. She did catch most of it, but bits and pieces of information kept eluding her memory. So, she was reduced to smiling and nodding as if she understood everything.

* * *

"You're not bad, Kikumaru," remarked Yuri, leaning against the wire fence. "Few people could tie me like that." 

"I'll say," Eiji answered, sprawled beside her. "Your style is a lot like my doubles partner's, but even he couldn't have played like that."

"Don't they just make the most perfect couple?" asked Fuji to Aiko softly on the other side of the court.

"Nani?" she exclaimed, caught off guard. "Why do you think so?"

"Opposites attract," was the only thing that he said.

"Hai…" thought Aiko aloud. "Yuri-san does need someone to soften her up. She's really a very nice person when you get to know her, but she's always so cold outside."

"And Eiji needs someone to reign him in when he gets too out of hand. He is like a little boy in a teenager's body."

Little did they know that Kikumaru and Suzutachi, on the opposite side of the court, was talking of the same sort of thing.

* * *

"I'm serious!" pressed Eiji. "Oishi, Nakamura, and Morigawa all agreed with me that it's a good idea!" 

"It's plain stupid," said Yuri, deadpanned. "But, you're right. They would compliment each other. From what I know, Kuroki is just too nice for her own good, and she's likely to be hurt easily."

"And Fuji is one of my best friends, so I should know," said Kikumaru in a low voice, suddenly serious. "He hasn't had the best childhood, so he should have someone who's able to support him. He keeps it all in with that smile, but only me and Tezuka know what's really behind it…"

Yuri was surprised. The Kikumaru she knew reacted on instinct and possessed an endless energy, but this Kikumaru was straightforward and serious.

"When did you become such a good friend?" she asked, half-joking.

"When I met Oishi and Fuji, I guess," answered Eiji sheepishly, scratching his curling hair. "Oishi taught me to be a friend, and Fuji… he just needs one, I guess."

* * *

"Now… since that game is over, how about a match between you and me?" asked Mizuki boldly, strolling over to where Fuji and Aiko sat. However… 

"Ah!" exclaimed the elder Fuji sibling suddenly, totallymissing seeing Mizuki in front of him. "Yumiko is coming back from her trip today, and I still have to make dinner!"

Yuuta immediately jerked up, too. "You forgot, Aniki? You know what nee-chan's like when she doesn't have her food…"

"Right!" nodded Fuji hastily. Turning to his friends, he apologized, "Gomen, but I have to go. My sister's coming back from her trip to Okinawa tonight, and she expects us to make dinner for her."

"Nya…" whined Kikumaru. "Why can't she make her own dinner?"

"Because," said Yuuta heavily, "she always makes meals for us, and she's always harping on how we never cook."

"I'm sure that their concern is urgent," interjected Aiko hastily, looking at Eiji's still-pouting face.

As the two Fuji brothers left, Mizuki stared at their retreating backs, thinking, _why must this happen every time…?_

"Well," Suzutachi said into the silence. "Shouldn't we get going, too?"

Aiko and Eiji both nodded, the latter still pouting. Stuff just isn't as fun when a friend ups and leaves.

* * *

"Ne, aniki," said Yuuta suddenly. "Was that girl who you were sitting by your girlfriend?" 

Fuji looked surprised for a second, then chuckled. "No, no. She was just a classmate. Although…" here he paused for a moment before speaking again, "she is very intriguing…"

Yuuta stiffened slightly. "Are you remembering… _that_ incident?"

His brother didn't answer, but Yuuta could see him turn his eyes of ice toward the setting afternoon sky.

* * *

Ooh… mysterious ending! Who knows what Syuusuke and Yuuta are talking about? 

This was a bit shorter than expected, but it ties up the Fuji and Aiko thing for the time being. Of course, their relationship barely scratched the surface, but I am deepening theirs (like Eiji and Yuri's) a little bit every chapter.

Hmm… I'm thinking of introducing Ichihana Gina in the next chapter while adding onto the Oishi and Kohaku pairing.

Review, nya! I COMMAND YOU! Please excuse my miserly self but... why are you reviewing? Muchos thanks goes to Ahotep, my faithful reviewer, and as to the rest of you... REVIEW! DO IT!


	7. The Paparazzi and the Schizo

There's More to Life Than Tennis

By BlackFeatherz29

Chapter 7

Here I go again with another chappie of this… do I need to say how fun to write this is? I think not. Thank you for the sudden increase of reviews that I received from the last chapter... (big cheesy grin) I hope that this chapter will also bring lots of reviews... (polishes butcher knife) Yesh, I am evil. You should already know that.

Here, we introduce shy Ichihana and her prince on the white war-horse, Kawamura. I've never written a kind of 'fairy tale' type romance before, so let's hope that I won't make it TOO corny. Let's just see how this turns out…

Disclaimer: The boys of PoT do not belong to me. Suzutachi, Morigawa, and Kuroki belong to me, but Ichihana does not. Moo.

* * *

"Oh no, I'm late again…" muttered a flustered Ichihana Gina as she quickly gathered up her books. Her soft brown hair flipped through the air sharply. 

"NO!" she wailed as she sprinted down the hallway. "Mrs. Murakami is gonna kill me!"

Rounding a corner, she noticed too late that there was someone in her way. Letting out a scream, her eyes squeezed shut at the inevitable conflict, but she was held back by a strong pair of arms.

Slowly, she managed to open her eyes to look up into the face of the concerned Kawamura Takashi.

"You should watch where you're going, I-Ichihana-san," he stuttered. It was clear that he too had not quite recovered from the near collision himself.

Gina's pale blue eyes widened as her fair face flushed with embarrassment. Backing away, she quickly bowed repeatedly in front of her classmate, burning with shame.

"Gomen, gomen, Kawamura-san!" she cried. "I wasn't watching where I was going and—" Something penetrated her thoughts with great force. "Oh, no! I'm really late for class now!"

Dashing off, she left the tall tennis player standing out in the hallway. Kawamura stared after the girl's retreating back, a little dazed.

"But isn't she in my class?" he wondered out loud, going the opposite direction back to his classroom.

* * *

"What, Mamushi?" screamed Momoshiro, shoving his face up to his enemy's. 

"You heard me, baka!" shot back Kaidoh, grabbing Momoshiro's shirt collar.

"You wanna settle this or what?"

"Bring it on!"

"Sa… what a pleasant conversation," remarks Fuji, standing on the other side of the court.

"Mada mada dane," grumbled Ryoma, turning back to giving his lesson. "Ryuuzaki, you still need to bend your knees more…"

"H-hai, Ryoma-kun!" responded the small girl, flushing bright red.

"BUUUUURRRNNNIIIIINGGG! GGREEEEEEEAAAAAATTTOOOOO!" came Kawamura's thunderous roar.

Tezuka's eyebrow twitched in a steady rhythm. The normally cold and sane Seigaku tennis captain was dangerously close to his limits. He needed something to take out his anger on…

"Kaidoh, Momoshiro! Break it up!"

No one heard him. They just kept on going.

"20 laps around the court, all of you!" Tezuka roared, kneading at his forehead.

"Nya, but buchou!" whined Eiji, "I didn't do anything!"

"No matter! 10 more laps!"

Grumbling, all the regulars of the Seigaku tennis team started on their laps.

* * *

"Okay," announcedTaroHiroshi. "Is everybody ready for our new assignment?" 

"HAI!" came the reply. In its midst, shy Ichihana Gina was clutching her camera, wondering how in the world she got herself into this mess.

"Okay, everyone, you have your assigned person," said Taro from the front. "Be sure to get the best shots you can, because this is going to be our most successful photo series ever!"

Indeed, most of the people certainly thought so. Most of the female population was completely infatuated with at least one of the members and Seishun Gakuen had one of the best junior high tennis teams in Tokyo, so it was natural for shots of them to be popular.

Ichihna, though, wasn't so sure she wanted to be there at that moment. She joined the photography club because she liked taking pictures of flowers and objects, not of people! She could never bring out the courage to secret creep up behind some random person and take their picture. That was invading their privacy! People had a right to have some personal privacy, and she was going to be violating that!

"Don't be shy, Hana-chan," came the comforting voice of her friend Kumiko. "All the tennis players are used to cameras, so they won't be bothered."

"But..." Gina's voice trailed off as she and the other members of the photography club arrived at the tennis courts in time to hear much commotion.

Instead of practicing in the courts, the entire tennis team was running laps around the court. And apparently with great vigor, too. A couple of people were on the ground, gagging dramatically while clawing at their throats while the ones who were running seemed to be _crying_ as they ran. A couple were yelling something like, "I don't wanna drink it!"

The members of the photography club sweatdropped. "Drink... it?" asked Taro, dumbfounded at their respected tennis team's actions.

* * *

"Hai, I am the captain of the tennis club, Tezuka Kunimitsu," said Tezuka, keep a careful eye on the remaining runners, all regulars. "I give you permission to take pictures of us when we practice, but you must not do them right now." 

Kumiko lowered her camera, just about to take a picture of a fuming Momoshiro and Kaidoh. "Why, Tezuka-buchou?"

"Inui is testing out his new juice, and I would rather not have to deal with the embarrassment of my players behaving like babies at the moment."

"Uh...huh?" said Kumiko, unable to think of anything else to say.

A couple of minutes later, theregulars minus Tezuka and Kikumaru were lying in a panting heap on the ground.

"Damn... him..." growled Kaidoh, glaring at Inui. The others were in too much pain to use up any extra oxygen from their aching lungs.

Poor Eiji was still running. Thankfully, Inui had laid off the juice for him when he heard that this was merely a punishment for badmouthing the captain, but this was still extra-grueling work for the red-headed regular, whose stamina was not his high point.

* * *

"Attention!" bellowed Tezuka, when he believed that everyone had fully recovered from the run ( a few were still gurgling on the ground). "We will have a special practice today, since the photography club is going to be taking pictures of us for their new photo series. You will be having one-to-one matches to the people of your choice, and be sure not to notice the cameras." 

"How can we not?" asked Oishi, brow furrowed in deep worry. "Buchou, flashes from cameras can blind people and cause them to mess up on their games!"

"Don't worry, fuku-buchou," said Fuji, glancing at him. "We've been through camers before, haven't we?"

"Nya, that's right!" said Kikumaru, recovering rather miraculously from the extra laps he had had to run. "You're such a worry-wort, Oishi!"

"Mada mada dane," came Ryoma's soft comment.

* * *

Kawamura was a little nervous. If you could call shaking in your tennis shoes nervous. 

"What's wrong, Taka-san?" asked Fuji over the net.

"N-nothing," answered Kawamura a little too fast, shooting a glance to the nearest wall of the court.

For there, camera poised, stood a dozen members of the photography club. Yes, Taka-san is afraid of paparazzi. He can't stop thinking about them.

"Don't worry, Kawamura-senpai," called Momoshiro from the court beside them. "When you get into burning mode, you'll forget all about them."

"You think so?" Kawamura smiled weakly. "Okay, let's go." He picked up his racket.

A few seconds of silence passed before a maniacal grin stretched across Kawamura's timid features. "I'm... BUUUUUUURRRRRRNNNIIIIIINNNNNNNGGGGG!"

Fuji just smiled.

* * *

'Just my luck', thought Ichihana miserable, watching the tensai, Fuji Syuusuke, hit a ball from the other side. 'Just my luck that I get assigned to photograph the boy who I nearly crashed into in the hallway..." 

His opponent gave a fierce war cry, and, swinging the racket with both hands, hit it back with tremendous force. That was Kawamura Takashi.

But what was curious was the fact that Kawamura was, by nature, a shy boy, much like Ichihana herself. So... what was he DOING?

"TAKE THIS!" roared Kawamura, swinging his racket once more. "BUUUURRRNNNIIINNNGGG!"

Ichihana hid her face in her hands, feeling it burn under her fingers. Argh... it was so embarrassing to hear that! Hearing that made her come up with strange visions of herself facing down Kumiko, screaming, "BBUUUUURRRRNNNIIINNNGG!"

She whimpered, feeling her cheeks grow even hotter with shame and horror.

* * *

That was... odd. Yeah, that's it. Odd. I didn't think that the romance would come to this point, _but_ I _think_ it will work out. I hope. :D 

If you have any ideas concerning trying to get Kawamura and Ichihana together, I'd love to hear them. I don't want people to try and matchmake them; just that both of them are too embarrassed to stare at the other for longer than three seconds, but they keep bumping into one another.

Oops. I think my chapters are getting steadily shorter. NOOOO!

Oh, I'm sorry, Ahotep! I made Ayumi-san a third year even though she was listed as a second year. Is it okay if I make her a third year?

Look for the next chapter coming out next week! XD


	8. The Building of Confidence

There's More to Life Than Tennis

By BlackFeatherz29

Chapter 8

Here we go again… sigh. I kinda ran out of ideas a little for the Kawamura and Ichihana thing, so this is the effort of work rather than just regular I-want-to-write-writing. I do, however, have a great idea for later, when the relationship gets more serious.

Disclaimer: The boys of PoT do not belong to me; only my OCs belong to me. Ichihana Gina does not belong to me; it belongs to her original creator.

* * *

"Gimme a hand here, Takashi," groaned Mr. Kawamura as he tried to steady a hefty box of frozen fish in his arms. 

Kawamura Takashi, having just come downstairs, heard his father's voice immediately and rushed to transfer the weight onto his own arms.

"Thanks, son." Mr. Kawamura wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. "You're already much better at this sort of thing than your old man! You'll do a good job with this restaurant when it's yours."

"D-dad!" stammered Kawamura, elated at his father's unexpected praise. "You really think that I'm the right person for this job?"

"Hai, Takashi," replied the elder man, grinning. He peered up into the sky, where the sun was just coming up. "Summer is coming."

* * *

"Stupid, stupid, stupid," muttered Ichihana Gina, smacking her own head repetitively while walking down the hall. "Kawamura-san probably noticed that I was embarrassed about his actions, and now he probably hates me! Stupid, stupid..." 

"Ah!" Her nose hit the center of someone's chest, and she let out a small cry. Opening her eyes, she blanched as she looked up into the slightly surprised face of the person she had just been mumbling about.

"Ah... Ichihana-san, right?" asked Kawamura carefully, smiling a little shyly. After seeing the look on her face, he stopped.

"Are you all right, Ichihana-san?" he asked, worried.

Gina just stared in dumbfounded horror, her mouth opening and closing like a fish. "K-k-kawamura-san!" she cried when she had recovered her voice. "G-gomen!" she shrieked as red rushed back into her cheeks. Tucking her head low, she dashed away in the direction she had come.

The tall tennis player stared at her retreating back. "Wha...?"

* * *

"All right," the class rep called, having already given the standard commands of 'Rise, bow, sit!', "Call out 'here' if I call your name-" 

"GOMEN, SENSEI!" cried none other than Ichihana as she barreled into the classroom of 3-3.

Mrs. Murakami pursed her lips, clearly disapproved. "Ichihana, you were lucky today," she told the panting girl standing in the doorway. "I was just getting to you. Please go to your seat."

"Hai, Murakami-sensei!" answered Gina slightly breathlessly.

As she sat down at her desk, her gaze happened to land on Kawamura Takashi. He gave her an apologetic smile, and she instantly turned red and buried her face in her arms.

* * *

"I will be choosing the partners for this project," procalimed Mrs. Murakami, ignoring the groans that filled the classroom. "Okay... Yanaka and Kurikawa." 

Two girls from each side of the class noiselessly pushed their desks together, slapping each other high-fives.

"Harimaru and Satomi."

A jock from the back row groaned as he moved his desk together with a girl who gave him a nasty glare.

"Kawamura and Ichihana."

'NOOOO!' wailed Gina mentally, terrified out of her wits. "This can't be happening! This must be a dream!" She then started to pound on her head with her small fists... that is, until Kawamura asked, concerned, asked, "Are you all right, Ichihana-san?"

Gina then realized that people in her class were staring at her with strange looks on their faces. She turned tomato red and hid her face behind her hair, blushing even more furiously than ever.

* * *

"Ichihana-san?" asked Kawamura, concerned for his classmate's sanity as he pushed a nearby desk together with hers. "Daijoubu desu ka?" 

"H-hai..." Gina stammered, not sure that she had enough courage to look up. 'Nonononononono...'

"Umm... so what do we do?"

"..." Sniff.

"I-ichihana-san! Are you crying!"

"No, no!" Sniff. "Start without me, Kawamura-san, please!"

"... all right, if you insist on it. Are you sure you're okay?"

"YES! I'm fine!"

"... um..."

* * *

Once again, the unfortunate Ichihana Gina found herself behind a green wire fence that made up the borderlines of the tennis courts, holding up her trusty camera, hands shaking with shame and terror. 

'I acted like such a fool...' she thought miserably. 'Now I know that Kawamura-san hates me even more than ever! Stupid stupid stupid...'

A ball hit the fence right by her face, and she quickly snapped back into the real world. Echizen Ryoma strolled leisurely over, pulling his white cap lower over his face.

"Gomen, Ichihana-senpai," he said without much expression. Then, looking back at her flushed face, framed by familiar brown hair, he suddenly asked, "Do you know Ryuuzaki?"

Gina blinked. "Y-yes. She's my cousin."

"Ah,"the freshman nodded, picking up the ball and heading back to his court, where Momoshiro was currently standing. "Thought so. You blush like her. You shouldn't do that so much."

Gina just flushed more. Did Echizen-kouhai just say that it was bad that she blushed so much?

* * *

As Kawamura exited the locker room, clad in his school uniform with his tennis bag over his shoulder, he looked around. 

'Where is she?' he wondered, walking toward one edge of the small building and looking down the wall.

Finally giving up, he started toward the school's main gates when he heard the pitter-patter of feet that signified that someone was coming.

As Kawamura turned, a panting Ichihana Gina came hurrying up the path.

"G-gomen, Kawamura-san!" she cried, slowing to catch her breath. "I'm sorry I'm so late!"

Knowing how his classmate is apt to apologize over and over for the smallest things, Kawamura just smiled and said, "No problem, Ichihana-san. You run really fast."

"H-honto ni?"

The pair started out of the school gates and toward the library.

* * *

No. 

Yes.

No.

Yes.

No.

Yes.

No.

"Um... um, K-kawamura-san?" Gina asked, finally working up the courage to speak after several minutes of silence.

"Yes?"

"Um...uh... I was... wondering..."she stuttered, drawing a deep breath. Better to get it over with fast.

"I was wondering... ifyoucantellmehowyoucanbesostrong!"

"...huh?" asked Kawamura, a clueless look on his face. "Can you say that again?"

So, Gina had to repeating everything agonizingly slow, stuttering on every syllable.

"Strength, huh?" Kawamura considered the question in his mind. "Oh, are you talking about my burning serve?"

"Y-yes!" exclaimed Gina, enormously relieved that she'd gotten her point across without (much) humiliation.

"Well," muttered Taka-san, only half-paying attention, "truth be told, when I take a hold of the racket, I- I feel just this incredible power pumping through my arms! I dunno how it does it, but I just feel like I'm on top of the world. Like... like, have you ever felt so excited to do something that you can't control yourself?"

Kawamura blushed as his statements were met with silence. Hunching his shoulders, he mumbled, "Well, erm, I-I sometimes get overenthusiastic about something. Don't mind me."

"N-no, Kawamura-san!" Gina cried, waving her arms frantically. "That's exactly what I was looking for! Please don't s-stop because of me!"

"Ah, o-okay..."

Both of them settled in a period of uncomfortable silence. Staring at the concrete beneath their feet, the two of them desperately thought of all the things they could possibly say. Finally, unable to stand the silence anymore, Kawamura spoke up.

"Um, Ichihana-san?"

"Y-yes?"

"I-I don't have much advice to give you, but if you really want my help..."

"Yes, y-yes, I do!"

"Uh... I guess the first thing you would want to do is to s-stop s-stuttering."

"B-but you're stuttering, too, K-kawamura-san..."

"W-what? I am?"

They both have a lot to work on.

* * *

Ah... these chapters are getting shorter and shorter... I'm really sorry for taking so long to submit it! I'm a whole day late...

I'm planning to finish up the Gina and Kawamura part on the next chapter (study period in the library, then Taka-san gets the brilliant idea to take Gina out for street tennis to help her build her confidence!), then I'm moving on to Ryoma and Sakuno, savvy? After that, I should spend some time on some non-OC characters while hinting at the budding relationships of previous pairings.

Thank you for all the reviews! I'm really looking forward to hearing what you think about this chapter, so please hurry up and review! (smiles evilly)


	9. Taka Plays Psychiatrist

There's More to Life Than Tennis

By BlackFeatherz29

Chapter 9

Okay, this is the last chapter of the Gina and Kawamura relationship, I promise. Sorry about the more-than-a-week updating time period… (gets pelted with rotten eggs) but I was totally swamped after weeks of updating super fast! Remind me never to try writing a story that fast again… . My PoT obsession came and went (I got obsessed with Seed Destiny, Hunter X Hunter, Spiral…) I just got back on PoT high after reading a bunch of volumes of the manga at my new home's library. That's right! I moved to Texas! Anyhoo, ignore my ramblings. New chapter. Got somewhat of a weird idea for Ichihana, but since I've been reading Kenshin Hiden too much, it might turn out that she would go for the kendo club instead of tennis, but… oh, well…

Disclaimer: I do not own Tennis no Ohjisama; just a few OCS and the intricate plot ;)

* * *

Kawamura Takashi was most definitely not a psychiatrist. Heck, he didn't even know why or how his own burning mode overrode his personality! How could a person with bipolar syndrome (at least he thought it was bipolar, but he could very likely be wrong) himself play psychiatrist to a meek girl seeking to _be_ bipolar? And he could barely decipher his own last thought! The hypocrisy of it all…

"S-so…" he stammered, peering over the top of the very old and very dusty encyclopedia that he had positioned in front of his face to look at Ichihana across from him. "So, erm, Ichihana-san… what do you like?"

Before Gina could stutter a single syllable, Kawamura quickly added, "I-It's alright if you don't want to answer! I'm just t-thinking that it would be easier to help you s-s-stutter less if you could share that!" Slumping to the desk behind his book, he sighed. What kind of weird and hypocritical psychiatrist was he…? Why in the world would Ichihana ask him, of all people, to help her with her self-esteem?

Gina was a little confused by Kawamura's avoiding behavior. Was he really naturally this shy, or was it just her? "Um, Kawamura-san," she began in a little stronger voice than usual, "you needn't a-act like that. You're not doing anything wrong." And, as a sort of afterthought (since she only just remembered the real question he'd asked), "Oh, I like, um, photography, nice people, and, uh… " Here, she trailed off, then mumbled something that couldn't be heard even in the quietness of the library.

The naturally tall tennis player couldn't hide behind his big book for long. Inspired by Ichihana's new confidence (not quite knowing why she did so), he inquired, "Ichihana-san, um, I didn't quite catch that last word. Cou-could you repeat it? Louder?"

Gina's face blushed a deep magenta. Kawamura panicked slightly, exclaiming, "Of c-course, if you don't want to, there's no need to do so!"

"I like," she said in a small voice, "the Shinsengumi."

It took a few minutes for the somewhat-slow tennis player to fully absorb what she'd said. "T-t-the Shinsengumi?"

She nodded, her brown bangs covering her blushing face.

"The elite group of ronin samurai that wore those blue jackets?"

She nodded again, sinking slowing into her seat like she was melting from shame.

"Ichihana-san! You don't need to be ashamed to like something like that!" gasped Kawamura, laughing a little. So she wasn't totally inept. Of course! She was still a person who had her likes and dislikes.

He then asked, feeling much more at ease, "Which member do you like the most?"

"Okita Souji," came the small answer, its speaker still not quite convinced that it was okay to publicly say that she liked such a thing. "B-But I like all of them! I just…" Gina's voice faltered slightly before continuing. "I just r-really admire all of them because they were so brave. Not like me…"

"You can be brave, too, Ichihana-san!" exclaimed Kawamura a little too loudly, causing the librarian to turn sharply and hiss a sharp "Shh!" at his general direction. Not deterred and the issue of the project temporarily evaporating from his brain, Kawamura flashed a semi-burning grin at Gina's red face. "Afterwards," he said, "we're going to play tennis!"

Gina was so dead. She was so very, very, dead. Currently her partner, the usually-shy Kawamura Takashi, was dragging her toward a street tennis place, a manic grin on his face and a racket clutched in his hand.

Clearing her throat and trying feebly to speak, she stuttered, "Um, er, K-K-kawamura-s-san, you r-really d-d-don't need to do this…" but the sound died away in her throat as the noise of her own shoes on concrete drowned her out.

Arriving at the set of tennis courts where the regulars from every junior high around always found themselves, the unlikely pair found Echizen and Momoshiro locked in mortal combat (tennis style, of course), and Sakuno and Tachibana Ann chatting on the sidelines.

"Ah, Taka-san!" Momo greeted, wiping sweat off his forehead with his usual sweatband. "It's new seeing you here." Seeing Kawamura in burning mode, he sweatdropped. "Hey, who's that?" he asked after catching view of a mop of brown hair behind Taka.

"It's Ryuuzaki's cousin," answered Ryoma without much enthusiasm, walking back to a bench and sitting down. Sakuno, upon hearing her name, gave a little gasp. Upon seeing her cousin, she jumped up.

"Gina-san!" she cried, running over. "What are you doing here?"

Momoshiro immediately saw the similarity of the two. 'No wonder they're cousins,' he thought. 'They both look like they've got a self-esteem problems.'

"Hey, Momo!" Ann yelled from the sidelines. "Why don't we play a game again, just you and me? We can let Sakuno and her cousin have a nice little reunion!"

Momo grinned, performing a mock salute. "Will do!"

Meanwhile, on a nearby court…

"Um…" Gina stuttered, still slightly breathless, "K-kawamura-s-san offered to help me learn how to p-play tennis…"

"HELL YEAH!" yelled the flaming Kawamura, completely oblivious to the discomfort that she felt. Echizen, coming over, grabbed the racket out of his hand to jump-start some circulation into the older boy's brain.

"Er, yeah," Kawamura grinned a bit sheepishly, back to his regular self. "Ichihana-san really wants to get stronger, so I thought the best way was to teach her how to play tennis, because that's what gets me burning!"

After hearing this, both Sakuno and Ryoma sweatdropped, both having a twisted vision of this shy girl going into 'burning mode'. The freshman girl, after seeing her older cousin's eyes start to tear up from the sheer embarrassment, quickly exclaimed, "That's a great idea, Kawamura-senpai! I think that it will do Gina-san a lot of good."

The tall tennis player brightened up considerably. "You really thing so, Ryuuzaki?" Taking ahold of his racket again, he dragged her to the adjacent singles court, burning like mad.

Sakuno looked at their retreating backs with a slightly ominous feeling. "R-Ryoma-kun," she began, not quite certain that this was a good idea. "Do you think it was the right choice to let Gina-san play tennis? I mean, she's really nice, but she's not put up for sports."

Ryoma casually took another swig of Ponta. "Don't worry. She'll be fine. After all, you turned out okay. Even if you need to bend your knees more…"

The freshman girl flushed in the exact way of her cousin, stuttering, "G-Gomen, R-Ryoma-k-kun!"

From ahead of them came the sound of Ann. "Heck yeah!" she yelled, jumping in the air. "I beat Momo!"

There also came the sound of a very disgruntled Momoshiro. "You took advantage of me because I'm always nice to girls!" he hollered up to her, but Ann paid him no heed.

"I beat Momo, I beat Momo-"

But even those taunts were drowned out by the roar that came from beyond. The sound of a male … and a _female_ voice combined?

"BBBUUUUUURRRRRNNNIIIINNNNGGGGG!"

"AAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!"

Putting a hand to her forehead, Sakuno groaned loudly. "Oh, no…"

* * *

I know, I know… short chappie. But I really have no more juices for Gina and Kawamura anymore… they ran out a long time ago. Oh, and for future reference, Gina is not pronounced the American way. It's "Geen-a", not "Jee-na". Basically, it's the word for silver, "Gin" with an A on the end.

Right now, I don't have many coherent ideas for most of the pairings, but I've got a REALLY good one for Fuji. I know what his secret is! (dances in a circle) And Eiji and Yuri has a pretty good one, too! But I'd like to focus on Aiko/Fuji if I can.

With my schedule the way it is, I have a feeling that I won't be able to update once a week like I used to. I'll limit myself to once a month or so. But, hey, you never know when I'll have an urge… and then it goes down again. Seriously, though, I'll update when I can and I'll, er, procrastinate when I don't. Ja!


	10. Nanjirou's Lectures

There's More to Life Than Tennis

By BlackFeatherz29

Chapter 10

Ummm… I have an excuse for this chapter? I mean, the subject. The subject is hormones and how love works. So unusual, so ridiculous. Hey, um, at least it's not total health class…? I have no idea what I've been inhaling to be able to come up with this twisted theme to surround the RyoSaku theme with. . You may like it or you may not. You may feel free to torch me if this turns out not to your liking. Hoiiiii… Oh, and I have no idea how to write Nanjirou. If it turns out too badly, I will gladly rewrite it and resubmit it. Even though I know he's generally not too bright, I think that he will light up when he starts on his favorite (cough) topic, ne?

Disclaimer: The Prince of Tennis does not and will never belong to me. Konomi would never have the thought of such a twisted theme.

* * *

Walking home from school by himself (Momoshiro was on another "date" with Ann again), Echizen Ryoma stared pensively up ahead. It wasn't like he was in a hurry to get home. Nanako was out shopping that day, so all that would remain was his lumpy bag of a perverted father and perhaps a box of something sweet, if he was correct. Nanjirou had hinted that there was something that needed to be done that afternoon, and being Ryoma's father, he knew that the best way to bribe him was using sweets. 

Arriving at the Echizen home, Ryoma took off his shoes and slid the door open. As he expected, there was Nanjirou, former "Samurai" and now athlete-gone-to-seed/hentai, lounging on the floor in his usual monk robes, and a box of mochi sitting innocently on the table.

"Tadaima," called Ryoma, set on getting out of there and back in his room as fast as he could without waiting for an 'okaeri'. Not another lesson…

"Hang on there, kid." A tanned hand snagged the back of his son's collar and pulled him back. Sounds of a scuffle and a grunt were heard.

As soon as the boy cleared up his windpipe, Nanjirou announced very grandly that he had to work today, thus, his son had to instruct his former coach's granddaughter and her friend in tennis… again. "And to 'sweeten' the deal (pardon the pun), I will give you this entire box of mochi if you do so."

"No." Ryoma did not feel like dealing with Sakuno and Tomoka any more than he had to. They'd been especially annoying recently.

"Boy," the older Echizen sighed, "I never did understand you. Why would any self-righteous man ever turn down a chance to personally tutor two cute girls?"

The prince of tennis groaned. "You're a pervert, Dad. There's no other reason."

Nanjirou frowned in disappointment at his son, who looked perfectly disinterested in his offer and in his box of mochi. That had been the very best quality mochi! "I'd swear that none of your teenage hormones have been acting up. Every boy your age develops an interest in girls except you!"

Ryoma rolled his eyes at his father's 'lecture'. "What's 'hormones'?"

At this, Echizen Nanjirou was stunned. His son… his own flesh and blood… didn't know what _hormones_ were?

Thus, fifteen minutes later, Ryuuzaki Sakuno and Osakada Tomoka found themselves sipping tea with Ryoma and Nanjirou at the Echizen residence. "Why the heck are we here anyway?" whispered Tomoka nervously to her companion. Sakuno was too scared to answer.

"So," Ryoma asked, bored out of his wits and totally oblivious to the discomfort of the two girls, "baka oyaji, why did you have to drag them here anyway? I thought you had to work."

The former tennis pro tut-tutted. "If you don't even know what hormones are, then I'm afraid that work has to wait. What kind of a father would I be if my own son was left so clueless?"

'So we had to come along?' was the question that came up in Sakuno and Tomoka's minds.

"Erm, Echizen-san," began Sakuno, "you didn't have to bring us to your home. I could just called Grandma and have her pick us up."

Nanjirou chuckled jovially. "No can do, ladies. I wouldn't be keeping up my end of the bargain if I left you there. And I'm aware that the hormones of both of _you_ are acting up, so you would be a good example to show to my son." Ryoma sighed as his father knocked on the side of his head to prove his point. Tomoka grimaced and Sakuno flushed.

As Nanjirou cheerfully lectured on the wonders that hormones work inside the body and the human psyche, his son's ever focused mind drifted back to tennis. He was the prince of tennis, was he not? That is, until he heard Sakuno squeal in dismay upon hearing the words 'love' and 'attraction'.

Ryoma would have loved to drift back into his half-dream of tennis, but his curiosity overcame his desire. Why would she have such a reaction? It's not as if she ever had experience in that area…

"So," Nanjirou was saying, eyes closed in satisfaction, "during this time especially, when students enter the new environment of junior high, a revolution begins. This is the time when most people find themselves attracted to the opposite gender. In particular," he winked at Sakuno, who was blushing so deeply that you could swear that her face had been splashed with red paint, "girls find themselves liking boys more often."

He now switched to glaring at Ryoma, who had a 'what now?' look on his face. "It is scientifically proven that girls usual develop faster than boys, both physically and mentally. This is why before puberty, girls are always the same height as boys. Also, this is why girls display interest in romance before boys. This is especially true among boys who are obsessed with a certain activity, most likely a sport."

"I am not obsessed," came Ryoma's automatic response to a statement of the extremely obvious. Nanjirou snorted.

"I would like an assistant to become an example to the class," he told them shortly. No one volunteered. 'Figures', Nanjirou thought. "Then I'll have to pick one." Turning his gaze to little Sakuno who sat neat and demure, he winked at her. "Ryuuzaki Sakuno-chan, would you please come up?"

Ryoma watched with mild interest as her face turned from red to pink, then to paper white, then to a shade of grey-green and back to pink and red. She stood up reluctantly, then shuffled her way to stand beside his father. As expected of Ryuuzaki Sakuno. Never learned how to say no to anything.

'Why doesn't she ever refuse?' he asked himself. 'Why doesn't she ever try?' It would be so easy to. Baka oyaji's not exactly a tyrant.'

"Thank you for volunteering!" the said man bowed to his guest, who just hid her eyes deeper in the shadow of her bangs. Then he dropped the bomb. "So, tell me, Sakuno-chan, how do you feel about Ryoma-kun?"

No one spoke for a few seconds. When the shy girl started to quake on her feet, Tomoka unwittingly yelled, "Go, Sakuno!" as encouragement. Not too smart.

-a few minutes later-

Footsteps and loud sniffling noises echoed down the quiet street where the Echizen family resided. An old dog laying in the sunlight lifted an ear lazily, but did not turn. A nearby handy neighbor turned off his lawn mower just in time to see a small girl hurtling down the drive, crying. The old man's face creased in a frown. Now what in the world had happened there?

Back in the Echizen household, where the incident responsible had occurred not moments before, Osakada Tomoka, who had just finished screaming her brains out at Echizen-papa, was hurriedly pulling on her shoes. A few feet nearby, poor Echizen-papa's own son had started glaring at him. "Why did you have to do that, baka-oyaji?" Ryoma asked his father tiredly. "Girls are funny creatures. You'll never get any girls if you keep doing things that way.

Before Nanjirou could reply with an indignant plee of innocence, Tomoka suddenly turned on her heels and jabbed her finger at Ryoma's chest. "And you!" she yelled. Ryoma stepped back involuntarily. "You go after her! You're the reason all this happened!" And before Nanjirou could crow in glee at his son's embarrassment, the girl screeched at him again. "And I won't forget you! You're the worst!" And then she threw the door aside and dashed after her friend.

Ryoma just stood there, his father sitting beside him snickering loudly. "Now what in the world just happened?"

-To be continued-

Okay... hope you enjoy this chapter and don't forget to review. I'm very glad that so many people like it, and I apologize greatly for my lack of updates. (bows) Oh, and to that person who remarked that Yuri is a bit of a Mary Sue, I do agree. I was erm, inexperienced when I started this fic, so I will try and make the others less perfect. But still, Yuri is only a bit of a Mary Sue because she wills herself to be. She thinks that being a Mary Sue is good, and that it's good to be perfect in every area she tries in, and to act predictably and calmly, like a perfect leader. True, it's kinda good, but it does make her a Mary Sue in this story. Of course, she doesn't know she's being written about. When we meet people in real life who are Mary Sues, you either hate them or like them. More likely, you like them, especially if they're a lot better than you in that area. Please don't blame poor Yuri for her characteristics. Blame me, and blame her conscience.

Next chapter: Ryoma finally realizes that Sakuno blushes around him and was so upset about this incident because she loves him. As the definiton of love is foreign to our favorite Prince of Tennis, we ask ourselves the question: will Ryoma blow her off, or reveal a secretly soft side?

PS: the ruler bar thing is not working for me. Help...?


	11. Like means 'not hate'

There's More to Life Than Tennis

By BlackFeatherz29

Chapter 11

I am so so so dead. I haven't updating this fic in more than a year. I am so dead.

The only reason I finished tonight is because I watched five episodes of the Nodame Cantibile live-action drama and am now on romance high. Plus, I really want to finish it. It's a long chapter; hope you enjoy and review before you skin me alive...!

Last chappie of RyoSaku!

Disclaimer: PoT does not belong to me. If Konomi-sensei was me, then I would get fired soon after getting hired for missing dozens of deadlines at a time.

* * *

It dawned bright and early the next morning. Ryoma's alarm clock rang at 6:00 sharp, and for once, he was already awake when it rang. Staring blankly up at his ceiling with Karupin curled comfortably on his stomach, the Prince of Tennis felt vaguely that something was out of place despite the comfort he was experiencing at the moment. What was it about making a girl cry that made it seem so wrong? It was like… stealing a piece of candy from a baby… or a fish from a starving cat.

Mulling over these interesting new similes he seemed to have come up with, Ryoma's thoughts were interrupted by his father's brash tones. "Oi, chibi!" he hollered, bursting into the room. Ryoma groaned.

"It's only 6:15, Dad," he grumped, acutely aware that he was supposed to get up fifteen minutes ago. Nanjirou pointedly ignored his son, choosing to grin quite blankly at the equally blank face of Ryoma's cover of which his face was buried.

"No time is too early for breakfast!" he crowed jovially, laughing a little more loudly than usual.

In the end, Ryoma got up anyway, just to get away from his father's annoying voice. Throwing on his school uniform and hastily running a comb through his dark hair, he made it downstairs to breakfast, to which he noted with irritation that there was western-style food… again. Nanjirou must have used his secret warlock powers to control Nanako's cooking capabilities just in order to annoy his son even more. There could be no other explanation.

He made it a point to ignore Inui-senpai's prescribed bottle of milk. The taste always made him nauseous.

By the time he 'finished' breakfast and started out the door on his merry way to tennis practice, Nanako was already gone, and there was just father and son sitting round the dinner table. Could this possibly be the site of some father-and-son-bonding?

Not a chance.

Before Ryoma could escape the evil clutches of his perverted father, said father had already reached out a firm hand and had grasped his son's wrist in a deadly grip.

"Ryoma," Nanjirou said in a very low and serious voice. "I don't want you to end up like me."

'No kidding,' thought Ryoma, fighting the urge to roll his eyes.

"I want you to make something of your life," Nanjirou continued. "I do want you to grow up proud of your heritage and of your talents, but these are not the things that your life should be revolving around."

The Prince of Tennis' eyebrows went up considerably. There was more to life than tennis?

"You have to make something of your life. If you spend all day lovingly polishing your tennis, what is there to gain besides, oh, world fame and trophies?"

He was clearly off of his rocker.

"There are gifts in life that are much harder to earn, and much more rewarding than just winning a couple of matches, son. Now that you are old enough, you must understand this. You now have the chance to earn a much greater prize that will stay with you the rest of your days and cause you to have much joy. After all, is not a person more irreplaceable than a gold-plated trophy?"

NANI?

"When I was your age, son, I was a genius just like you. I could hit any type of ball you please, in any direction and any way. I had it all, the looks, the talent, and most of all, the charisma. But I never took advantage of my gifts, because of what? Tennis! My greatest talent was also my greatest pitfall because it blinded me to what was right in front of my nose."

No, it couldn't be! He couldn't be talking about—

"Ah, those were the days! All the girls loved me. They made me lunches, they pampered me in every way their pretty little hands could. They adored every part of my body as if it were a sacred temple. And yet, I had to end up with such an uncute wife as your mother and have such an uncute son as a result. I myself are reduced to spending the day pining away for the cute girls that I could have had, now existing only in the laminated pages of magazines. Oh, woe is me!"

He was talking about his perverted magazines. This was why he loved them so much. This was… WHY HE QUIT HIS CAREER?

Ryoma started to sweat. He never imagined that his father could be so twisted on the inside. "Oi, baka oyaji," he grunted, "I have to go to tennis prac—"

"THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I WAS WARNING YOU AGAINST!" his father screamed, nearly knocking his chair over. "You want that cute little pigtailed girl from yesterday to suffer such a deep wound in her soul that she will despise you for the rest of her days?"

So that was what all this was about. Ryoma tried to pull away from Nanjirou's tight grip, but it was futile.

"APOLOGIZE TO HER! YOU WANT HER TO SKIRT YOUR PATH ALL YOUR LIFE LIKE A KITTEN WHO HAS BEEN DENIED THE CATNIP THAT SHE HAS BUILT HER LIFE AROUND?"

During this loud period of yelling, the Prince of Tennis quietly slipped away and onto Momo's bike. His father was left screaming incoherently at the dinner table, tears streaming down his face and banging his fists childishly against a poster of a beautiful swimsuit model.

"What was that all about?" asked Momo, pedaling nonchalantly down the city streets.

Ryoma scowled ferociously. "My dad was just being my dad. That's all there is to it."

Momo shrugged, then started a new topic. "Ne, Echizen. Tezuka-buchou told me that Coach Ryuzaki's furious with you? Any idea why?"

This was truly puzzling. "Coach Ryuzaki?"

"Yeah. Buchou said that it had something to do with her granddaughter…"

Uh-oh. The kitty had gone back to bite him in the butt.

"Mada mada dane," muttered the Prince of Tennis before he could stop himself. Momo perked his ears up at this.

"Oh-ho! So you do know something!"

Ryoma frowned, not that Momo could see him. Another image of sad Karupim in anguish firmly rooted itself to the front of Ryoma's eye lenses, facing unfailingly inward. This was a strange emotion manifesting itself inside of him indeed. What peculiar twisting of the intestines it felt like! He was reminded of the time when he had accidentally taken Karupin's favorite toy to school. That had been one of the most upsetting days of this school year, surpassing any tense tennis matches or threats of Inui Juice by far. His intestines had danced the jitterbug that day for several hours straight.

Finding Karupin had proved to be a daunting task involving the entire Seigaku tennis team and the mistreatment of Momo's beloved bike. It was unnerving how troublesome one fluffy Himalayan cat could be. Imagine now, how very much more trouble a certain pigtailed girl several times the size of said cat must be.

"Oi, oi, Echizen! You gonna answer my question or else?"

"Iie." Ryoma then decided to firmly shut his mouth. This was none of Momo's business. Besides… he was an insufferable gossip. Almost as bad as Kikumaru-senpai and Ayumi girl he talked with. There could be no gossip if he did not speak it, right?

"EH? But you know something! I know you know something!"

"…"

"Talk to me, darnit!"

"…mada mada dane."

Gradually, Momo-senpai gave up, but not before newfound suspicions wormed their way under his skin. The kid knew something, but he just didn't want to tell. Any reasonably intelligent person could decide that.

Momo wondered why Ryoma hadn't thought of how suspicious he would look if he was doing this ignoring routine. His conclusion? Ryoma wasn't a normal human being. He just couldn't be so stupid as to not have any common sense. Or could he?

Sure, he was the Prince of Tennis and all. He was a genius at anything involving tennis. He was insufferably stuck-up and regularly made people want to strangle him, mostly tennis players from other schools. But he couldn't manage to avoid one single topic in a conversation?

All the tennis must have taken up all the space in his brain that was normally used for social functions.

Arriving at the school gate of Seishun Gakuen, Momo was almost sure of what Ryoma was 'concealing' from him. He must have done something to make Ryuzaki-chan cry, so Coach Ryuzaki was mad at him because of the mental damage done to her granddaughter. It seemed a bit out of orbit, but the more he thought about it (and he had a lot of time to think about it) the more it made sense. He smiled quite ferally. He knew Echizen's secret… now the only thing left to do is to go find Ryuzaki-chan and make Ryoma apologize.

'Maybe Kikumaru's nosiness is rubbing off on me,' he mused, securing the lock on his bicycle. 'But I kinda like it.'

* * *

Sitting quietly on the roof of the school, Ryuzaki Sakuno was nearly invisible to her classmates except for the large black cloud of gloom raining down on her pristine school uniform. One unfortunate boy had accidentally swiped a hand through the stuff, drawing back quickly when he felt the dark tendrils of depression worm toward his arm. 

Sakuno was very sad. Not from anything anyone else did, of course. Sakuno-chan wasn't the type of person to blame anything on anyone.

No, she was upset at herself. At her own incompetence and stupidity. And at that darned lack of self-esteem!

'Why, why, why...,' she thought sadly, head in her arms, 'why did I have to go and run away like a chicken when all Nanjirou-san do was give me a chance to tell the truth? Why am I so dumb and slow and stupid...?'

She gave a small squeal of dismay as she imagined her crush's response to her reaction. He would definitely say something like, 'Feh, how embarrassing. Mada mada dane...' and then give her an ultra-strict-Echizen-Ryoma-tennis-genius-scowl of Doom.

"It's all my fault," she thought miserably. "I need to tell him... I need to tell him how I feel... but how can I do that when I've ruined all my chances already?"

"GOOD MORNING, SAKUNO!"

The poor girl jumped about a foot in her seat before she realized whose loud familiar voice that was. "To-Tomoko?"

An overenthusiastic clap on the back was her reward. Curiously, Sakuno's best friend seemed to be laughing even louder than normal. "Of course! Ne, ne, Sakuno! Don't worry one bit about that old man Echizen! He's just a big jerk who never figured out how to get along with... "

... huh? Was Ryoma-kun's father a common topic to talk about in the morning?

"Ano..." Sakuno tried to salvage the conversation, but her friend could no longer hear her over her own voice. Sakun decided then that no matter how strongly Tomo-chan felt against Nanjirou-san, that she must stop this before Ryoma-kun arrived. How embarrassing could it be for someone to talk so rudely about your dad?

So, she screwed up her face (cutely, although she didn't know it) and raised her voice. "ANO!"

Tomoko was so shocked that she stopped talking. As soon as she turned to look at the pigtailed girl, Sakuno immediately felt like crawling under her desk.

"Um, e-eto... " she mumbled, twidling her index fingers idly, " r-really, Tomo-chan... Nanjirou-san didn't d-do anything wrong. I-it was all my fault that I ran away from Ryoma-kun's house in the first place..."

Tomoko scowled. "No, it's not! It's all that stupid old man's fault! Hurry up and get out of that seat; I'm going to go find Ryoma-sama and tell him to go talk to his old man for us..."

Sakuno protested pathetically as her best friend half-dragged her out of the classroom, and right into --

"R-r-ryoma-kun!"

He looked mildly surprised to see Sakuno half clinging to the doorway, Tomoko with both her arms wrapped around Sakuno's left one and her foot stuck stubbornly in the middle of the hallway.

"... good morning," he said cautiously. There was a strange look on his pale face, like he didn't know what to make of the situation before him.

"Ah, perfect!" crowed Tomoko, giving one final pull to Sakuno and then dropping her on the floor. "Would it be okay if we came to your house after school today? Your old man's got some apologizing to do-"

"Tomo-chan!" cried Sakuno, nearly in tears. "Stop it! It's not his fault; it's mine!"

"No, it's not!" Tomoko screeched back. "Ryoma-sama, tell Sakuno that it's not her fault!"

Ryoma sighed. "Stop it," he said, yawning. "That stupid dad of mine caused a big mess. Ignore him,."

Tomoko grabbed Sakuno's hands, twirling her around and cheered loudly. "There, you see? Not your problem!"

The shy girl gave a squeal of dismay and desperately tried to stop her friend from making her jump up and down. "Tomo-chan!" she cried, glad that this time her voice did not shake, "Please stop it! I'm getting dizzy..."

Tomoko immediately stopped and then forced her down to the nearest girl's bathroom. Ryoma stared at their retreating backs with a raised eyebrow. So much for getting a chance to talk with Ryuuzaki...

* * *

Sakuno bit her lip as she made her way up to the school roof. It was lunchtime, and she really didn't want to eat her homemade bento. Her stomach had been tying itself into knots since day started. 

After she had successfully convinced Tomoko that she was not about to start puking her guts out, they'd made their way back to the classroom just in time. As she sat down in her assigned seat, she made a decision.

It was definitely not Nanjirou-san's fault that she did that. If she had just been braver, she would have been able to stand at the front of Ryoma-kun's living room and tell him how she felt about him. It was a perfect opportunity, and she busted it. Because of that, she had a commitment to her heart and her feelings.

She'd tell Ryoma-kun how she felt about him.

There was no way she was going to chicken out of this one! Even though her bravado started dying every time she caught a glimpse of him, she'd ball up her fists and hit herself on the head to make sure that she was still focusing on her goal.

She'd be as fearless as Ryoma-kun on the tennis court! As she put a tentative hand on the handle of the door to the roof, she mentally added, '... or not'.

The moment she stepped out into the bright sunlight, she felt her breathing start to quicken. Sakuno's insides quaked like a volcano about to erupt, and she began to have doubts about her daring plan. All that changed when Ryoma-kun turned her way and caught her gaze in his sharp golden eyes.

She nearly forgot to breath then.

"Ah," he said matter-of-factly. "Ryuuzaki. I wanted to talk to you."

Sakuno's knees nearly collapsed. "Y-y-you wanted to t-talk to m-me?"

"Hn," Ryoma grunted, gesturing to a spot near him. "Sit down."

The poor girl felt like fainting as she numbly headed toward him. This was it! This was her chance! Sakuno opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out. "E-eto... eto..." she began very quietly, but Ryoma beat her to the punch.

"Ignore my baka oyaji," he said nonchalantly. "Don't get wired up on what he does. He's just an old pervert."

"That's not true!" she burst out, before realizing what she'd just said to Ryoma-kun. In a smaller voice, she added, "I think he's a very nice person. I was just too scared to go up..."

The Prince of Tennis raised both his eyebrows at her. Really, he could never understand girls like her. It was obvious that his dad was nothing but an old lecher, but why would she defend him?

"Why?" he asked. "He had no right to do that."

"B-b-but..." Sakuno swallowed hard, mentally counting to ten in her head, "... I wanted to go up there. I had to... "

Now Ryoma was really confused.

"... I have to tell you now, Ryoma-kun. I... I... I, um, really like... you..." her voice then died away into the wind.

There! She'd said it... and now to see Ryoma-kun's reaction... her breath hitched in her throat as she waited, face bent low and face scrunched up.

"... hn."

Had he just said, 'hn' to her proclaimation of love?

To be totally honest, Echizen had not correctly comprehended her last statement, as he had no experience with romance at all and did not have the slightest bit of yearning for such.

Really, she was so silly. Why on earth wouldn't she like him? Did she think that he thought she disliked him?

"... ano, Ryoma-kun..."

Was she expecting something? That puppy-eyed look in her eyes looks like she wants something... catnip? Toy?

But she was a person, not a cat like Karupin... so what could she possibly want from him?

"Should I ... say something?" Ryoma asked, uncertain for perhaps the only time in his life. He felt strange asking that question; he never asked questions except to insult people or to politely inquire to his mentors. Ryuzaki most certainly wasn't a mentor. Unless... she was a mentor on rare speech meanings?

Sakuno stared, goggle-eyed at the boy she loved. Then it dawned on her. He didn't understand what she'd said.

A long silence passed over them. Then, the poor girl suddenly burst into tears.

Ryoma blinked at her, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Why was she crying? Did he do something wrong?

Really, a polite inquiry usually didn't make someone start crying. What a strange creature she was.

Her tears wouldn't stop. The sobbing was very persistent to Ryoma's ears, and gradually he felt like he had to do something. It certainly wouldn't do to escort a weeping girl back into the classroom at lunchtime.

Wait a minute... when had he started to know about what to do with crying girls anyway?

Oh, yeah. It was Momo-senpai. He always beat up all the guys that Ann was unhappy with. Echizen remembered vaguely about Momo lecturing him continuously about it being "a crime to make girls cry".

It's very strange, but the boy felt a thread of truth in that strange phrase. Before, he wouldn't have cared one bit if a girl was crying, a boy was crying, or if anyone cried at all.

But that strange twisted look on Ryuzaki's red, swollen face incurred in him some sort of duty. It just seemed... wrong that a small, pretty, fragile creature like her was looking so... ugly.

He realized something. People didn't look normal when they cried. It was bad when people cried. So he should do something to stop that flood of tears. It was an extraodinary deduction.

"Ryuzaki..." he began uncertainly, noticing with relieved satisfaction that the girl's muffled sobbing quieted a few decibels. "I'm not sure what you meant by liking me, but I already knew that."

Sakuno couldn't believe her ears. "Y-y-you knew t-that?" she hiccupped nervously, trying vainly to rub her tears away from her red eyes.

"Well... you don't hate me."

She could have face faulted if she hadn't already been sitting.

"I don't know what you want me to do, and you won't tell me-"

What kind of person didn't know how to answer --

"- but I don't hate you."

She stopped crying at that point and just stared.

"If you would stop crying... I think I would like you better."

Sakuno groggily tried to wrap her brain around his last statement. Somehow... it wasn't what she was expecting.

Now that she thought of it, she didn't know what she had been expecting. Rejection? Um... somehow, not likely. Reciprocated love? Not likely, either. Ryoma-kun just wasn't the type of person to flat out refuse someone who wasn't his opponent, nor was he the type of person who would ever be interested in dating. If he was, he could have dated Tomo-chan for a long time.

She sighed, hiccupping lightly. Although Ryoma-kun didn't really understand the question, it was a good enough ending.

He didn't hate her... she brightened up immediately. Ryoma-kun didn't hate her!

And he'd tried to get her to stop crying... right? Was that his attempt to express concern for her?

All of a sudden, it felt like her heart had wings. Sakuno felt like she could die happy that moment, because of two important truths:

1) Ryoma-kun didn't hate her!

2) He cared!

Meanwhile, the Prince of Tennis glanced curiously toward his companion, wondering exactly why she was crying again. Girls were so weird.

* * *

... finally, finally, FINALLY finished this! You have no idea how long it took me to write this chapter. Okay, so you do know... it took me more than a year! Being the procrastinating author that I am, it will probably take me that long again to finish writing a new chapter TTTT


	12. Gender of the New Student

There's More to Life Than Tennis

By BlackFeatherz29

Chapterr 12

OMFG... I updated fast! I demand applause! (gets squirted with ketchup) Really wanted to write Inui's OC char, for some reason. I suppose I'll have to put off HorioTomokaKaidoh for a few chapters just because I like Yoko Ren so much. Sorry, Fuji and Eiji's Girl! First I changed her character completely, then I changed her first name. But for the main theme of Ren-san's appearance, she has to have a name that wouldn't indicate if she were male or female.

I think Ren's character is the most original I've ever created :D She'll certainly make an interesting match to Inui, especially since she's an art junkie, karate freak, and not good at school (and doesn't care, either). I've always wanted to come up with a girl who might be mistakened for a boy (when the opposite is so common in anime and manga). Enjoy, and don't forget to review!

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis, nor any of its original characters. I own my OC's, including Yoko Ren, although Fuji and Eiji's Girl owns the bare framework of her character... (even though I positively mangled that)

* * *

Inui Sadaharu liked to know everything that happened in his little world. He liked having the data right in the palm of his hand (literally) and he liked even more when there was a challenge that lay ahead for him.

Strolling along at a restful pace, he allowed himself the small liberty of a yawn. Inui always went to bed late because he stayed up analyzing his data, and always began his walk to school at least half an hour early. He felt that many interesting traits of people became the most obvious very early in the morning. And during the morning, people were 78.57 percent less guarded in their conversations, so he also took this time as an opportunity to gather more data on the other schools' team members.

For example, Tezuka apparently had low blood pressure, so he was actually very calm in the morning and on average gave out 60.7 percent less demerits and 52.3 percent less laps around the tennis courts.

Momoshiro and Kikumaru were the most chipper in the morning, as Inui had observed. Momoshiro curiously did not have much of an appetite at breakfast time, but his sister had reported that Momo ate 40.6 percent more food at dinnertime than his enormous lunch. Thus, Inui had concluded with 94.9 percent accuracy that Momo must be working off the extra ATPs ingested twelve hours before, as Momo began the day with enthusiastic cheer and gradually wound down until around lunchtime, where he would renew his energy supply and then fall asleep toward the end of the day. Only the promise of at least 4.5 burgers with Echizen kept the tall boy going through the afterschool tennis practices.

Meanwhile, Kikumaru's supernatural energy stemmed suspiciously from nothing in particular. Inui did not himself know the specifics of the Kikumaru family, as the household had too many bright-eyed, red-haired children to tell Eiji apart from his siblings. But a nagging 35.6 percent at the back of his head told him that there must be some sort of strange caffeinated substance in that toothpaste of his, because Inui knew that every day the boy used at least 11.8 percent of the tube, so by the end of at most 11.8 days, he had to buy a new tube. Either that was it, or Eiji simply had a satisfaction so deep within him that its flame will never be dimmed.

Fuji, Inui had found, was not a morning person. He was apt to spend the whole morning with his eyes open, something that never occurred during the afternoons. Also, Yuuta reportedly hated spending time with his brother in the morning due to Fuji's tendency to act even more sadistically during the mornings.

Echizen never drank his bottle of milk unless Inui forced the white liquid down his throat with a clothespin clamped on the boy's nose. He also seemed 13.8 percent more pleasant due to the presence of Karupin the Himalayan cat, that is, until Echizen Nanjirou disrupted Ryoma's peace of mind and drove him into a foul mood.

But he digresses. As he reached the front gates of the school, he noticed the usual. Masaru from class 2-D was preening himself under a tree, Tsumutou from 3-A crammed, Kido looked at his watch as he arrived five seconds earlier than usual. Horio and his friends were spotted right around the corner, and Inui saw the shy Ryuzaki standing with them.

But his ears picked up more than the usual gossip. A commotion was happening outside the administrative building.

Inui felt his data-tracking senses awaken in apprehension. He'd heard from the teacher the day before that there was to be a new transfer student in his class from Okinawa, but he had not been able to obtain any more information on the student. All his classmates seemed to be very excited about this, so this was an event worth investigating. And he was 54.9 percent sure that this new commotion must be because of the transfer student.

Making his way casually toward the entrance, he stealthily approached, eyeglass lenses gleaming in anticipation of more data. If such a commotion was being raised, surely something interesting must have happened?

He didn't need to wait another moment. The main doors were flung open, and loud yelling was heard. He could hear the principal, a familiar secretary, a distraught older woman's and an unfamiliar youthful voice. Must be the student. The only thing was, Inui couldn't quite pin down if that low voice was male or female. For all he knew, the student could be cross-dressing like those annoying shojo manga titles that Kikumaru liked to read.

Before he could comprehend what he was seeing, a person came out. Unmistakably, it had to be the student, but what made Inui's eyebrows rise was that person's distinguishing features.

The teenager had a long cloud of bleached blond hair, suggesting a rebellious nature and most likely a female gender. But, as the principal came out with a resigned air with the distraught mother behind him, Inui compared their heights, and found that the new student was a head taller than the man; about Inui's own height. He had never seen any girl that tall before. Furthermore, this student seemed to still be wearing street clothes, consisting of a strange black and red garments ripped in some places and in others, studded with gleaming metal pieces; gothic, he believed, but undoubtedly male clothes. And although Inui himself stood too far away to clearly see the student's face, he began to conclude that this person was a boy, by way of these four reasons (neatly written in a fresh page in his notebook):

1. He was too tall to be any normal girl.

2. No girl could be so flat-chested and skinny.

3. He was clearly wearing male clothes.

4. His body language screamed self-confidence and control that he had ever only seen a male possess.

As the strange boy leaned against the wall while his mother lectured the principal sternly, Inui sneaked away toward the third years' entrance. He had a wealth of interesting new data stored away safely in his notebook, and he was looking forward to studying this curious new student and seeing if he was interested in tennis…

* * *

Tokyo looked exactly like Okinawa, Yoko Ren realized. When one thought of Okinawa, they thought of dialects, exotic species, and ancient Okinawan spiritual artifacts. But Yoko Ren had always lived in a wealthy neighborhood in the middle of an urban metropolis. They ignored nature there and built the city just like any other Japanese city. And thus, she felt absolutely no trepidation as she and her mother made their way to her new school, even as her mother puffed her round cheeks out in fury as she prepared to storm the administrative office.

Tou-san's company had been talking of moving their main headquarters to Tokyo since before she was born. So it really wasn't any surprise to Ren or her family that early in January, her father announced that they were moving to Tokyo. Haru grumbled about leaving elementary when he'd just finished fifth year, but Ren just shrugged. Sure, she was sad about leaving her friends and her shishou. But really, people have to move on and being negative won't do anything to help; only hurt. Besides, it wasn't really anything big. Nobody died, right?

So, she'd spent the rest of her time in Okinawa having a good time with her art class friends when she had time, and spending all her weekends at the dojo perfecting her art before she would have to leave. Shishou was like a third parent to her, and she'd been going to his class since she was five. She would miss him and her old sparring buddies: Kenta, Kata-kun, Jun, Yuki, and everyone else whom she had grown up with. She didn't promise to email, but she said she would try.

By the time she boarded the plane with a sleepy Haru at her side, Ren had finished her black belt degree, won a city-wide art contest, and had emptied her mind of all anxieties a long time ago. Everything was taken care of, and life would go on. Only in a different place.

Their new Tokyo home was bigger than their old house, with similar buildings lining a steep street along with lollipop-shaped trees. She'd taken to wandering around the area for days on end, but it seemed that most of the residents in her neighborhood were either older folks or young children. Every time she passed, they'd stare at here in either amazement or barely concealed fear. She suspected that it was either her clothes, her face, or her sheer height.

Ren had taken a liking during sixth year to gothic fashions, and had especially liked the creative accessories of the visual kei bands. She didn't mind those lacy gothic Lolita dresses, but slim black pants with silver chains always looked better on her tall frame than short skirts and stockings. Never mind that she was forced to wear a sailor uniform to school; she wore boy's clothes everywhere else.

Also, her brother always complained about her scary face. It really wasn't her fault that she was born with such a thin face and such sharp, narrow eyes. They were a curious light gray instead of the usual brown and slanted upward in a villain-ish way; her parents always puzzled where the strange color came from when their family was one hundred percent Japanese. But with time, she learned to adjust her life to fit her overly tall body and scary face.

She found that her face was useful in karate tournaments, where if she glared menacingly enough, the opponent would mentally shake in their tracks, and her height gave her an advantage along with her strength. She didn't much like all the other chatty, social girls in her class, so her face helped in scaring them into leaving her alone. And while some girls tried to pick on her due to her lack of cleavage, she felt that breasts were merely an impediment when one tries to run.

Haru had screamed the first time he'd seen her coming home with white-blond hair, and two piercings in each ear. He'd thought she was an oni who had come to eat him because he'd owed money, but her parents had thought nothing of her (though they did think that Haru's reaction was terribly funny). If there was something she liked the best about her parents, it was that they understood her in every way possible. They didn't even complain about the hair; in fact, her mother had told her that the blondness made her gray eyes look more natural.

So, at last it was time for the first day of school. By tomorrow morning, Yoko Ren would be an official third-year student at Seishun Gakuen. She'd heard from her mother that the school was famous for its tennis teams, but she'd shrugged that information off. Ren didn't really care much about school; she wasn't very good at any sort of studying except history and art.

One problem existed, however. Though she already had all her schoolbooks, the school had not sent her a uniform. Her mother had been furious, raving about 'how in the world does the school expect my daughter to go to her first day of school without a uniform?'

Ren could care less. She suspected that the school's officials had not known whether she was a girl or a boy from both her profile and her ID picture (she'd accidently forgotten to circle her gender). So, here they were, making their way to Seishun Gakuen at half-an-hour before school started. She mentally reminded herself to plug her ears when they met with the school's principal. Her mother's yelling could kill wild yetis with mere volume alone.

When this bothersome task was finished and a girl's uniform was finally secured for her (the skirt tended to be too short because of Ren's long legs, and she had to pull the waistband low on her hips so everything was properly covered), she finally followed the class representative to her new homeroom.

* * *

This was writte amazingly fast, so I hope it's up to quality to your standards! I really like the coolness in Ren's character, and how she's not cute, pretty, or any sort of girliness you might imagine. In fact, I think that the girls will fall for her more than the guys... 


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